Child In Danger
by Poesia-Riptide
Summary: "Are you happy?" Shriya averted her eyes, looking uncomfortable all of a sudden. "Of course I am." Abhijeet shook his head. "It's difficult to lie to a CID officer, Shriya, but it's impossible when the CID officer is also your father."


C.I.D- Child In Danger

Summary: When Abhijeet and Tarika find little Shriya lying on their doorstep one morning, they're floored. Why did Shriya run away from her uncle's house? How did she find and reach their house? And most importantly, what are they going to do now? Spin-off from the episode 'Nanhi Gavah'. Note: Shriya isn't deaf or dumb here.

_INTRODUCTION (the background story):_

_A year ago, the CID solved a case in which a small child saw her mother being murdered right in front of her. When the CID team came to investigate the murder, they found her hiding in a cupboard._

_Senior Inspector Abhijeet took it upon himself to take care of the child, and both of them grew very attached to each other. It was soon revealed that the murderer of the girl's mother was none other than her uncle's wife, acting upon the orders of the child's grandmother, the mother of her late father._

_The case was over, and Abhijeet decided that he would adopt the little girl, seeing as how she was an orphan and he was all alone in the world. Before he could act on this decision, however, her uncle came to take her home with him._

_Abhijeet was completely against it, but ACP Pradyuman and Inspector Daya persuaded him to give the child to her uncle. Finally, Abhijeet reluctantly agreed to do so, and made the uncle promise to take good care of her._

ABHIJEET AND TARIKA'S HOUSE, 5.30 A.M.

Dr. Tarika hummed to herself as she came into the hall. Pushing her curly hair out of her face, she poured herself a glass of water. She checked the clock on the wall. The milk and newspapers must have arrived by now, she thought. When she opened the door, though, she found something else entirely. A shocked gasp emitted from her throat.

A little girl was lying on the doorstep. And a very familiar little girl at that...Tarika would know this child anywhere.

"Shriya?" she exclaimed, kneeling down beside the child and staring incredulously at her sleeping face. Turning, she yelled over her shoulder to her husband. "Abhijeet! Come here, _now!"_

The senior inspector hurried over at once, and his dark eyes widened when he saw the little girl lying on the doorstep. "My God. _Shriya?"_ He bent down and picked the sleeping child up in his arms, carrying her into the house. Tarika followed, shutting the door behind them.

Abhijeet set Shriya gently down onto the bed in the guest room and sat beside her. Feeling her forehead, he frowned. "She's running a temperature." Tarika immediately went into doctor-mode and went off looking for ice-packs to bring Shriya's fever down.

As he sat looking at Shriya, anxiety filled Abhijeet's mind. How had she turned up at his doorstep? Had she run away from her uncle's house? If so, why? Was she all right?

His thoughts were interrupted by his wife's voice. "Abhijeet? Just hold Shriya up a little so I can put these ice-packs here."

Abhijeet did as he was told, and wiped the sweat off the little girl's hot forehead. She stirred a little, and made a noise. Abhijeet gently patted her head. "Papa," she croaked faintly. "My throat hurts."

"Shh," Abhijeet shushed her. "It's OK, sweetheart, I'm here. I've got you." He felt a pang in his heart when she called him 'papa'.

Shriya rolled over and crawled into Abhijeet's lap, her long straight hair spilling over his knees. Tarika gently gathered it up and tied it back as the child slept. Once she had finished, she looked up to meet her husband's gaze. "What do we do now?" she asked him.

Abhijeet sighed. "I don't know, Tarika. But as of now, I think you should stay home today and take care of Shriya. I'll inform Dr. Salunkhe."

Tarika nodded. "Of course." She patted the sleeping child on the shoulder. "She needs good rest."

"I suppose I'd better go get ready for work," Abhijeet said. He carefully, gingerly lifted Shriya off his lap and made her lie back against the pillows. Tarika covered the little girl up with blankets as Abhijeet left the room.

Later, before he left for work, Abhijeet came to the room again to check up on Shriya, who was sleeping a little better now. He gave the little girl a kiss on the forehead and patted her head, and Tarika followed him to the door.

"I'll take good care of her," the forensic scientist promised her husband, holding his hands and looking earnestly at him. Abhijeet smiled. "I know you will." He hugged her, and she waved as he went off.

CID BUREAU

Inspectors Daya and Muskaan stood dumbstruck as Abhijeet finished his story. They simply couldn't believe their ears.

"So now Dr. Tarika's taking care of her?" Daya finally asked. Abhijeet nodded. "I don't know what to do, guys," he sighed. Muskaan shook her head sympathetically. "I hope she'll be all right." Daya patted Abhijeet on the shoulder, and the senior inspector smiled up at his best friend before going over to the window.

Daya turned to see his girlfriend looking strangely up at him. "What is it?" he asked her, and Muskaan shrugged her slender shoulders. "Nothing. Just thinking."

"Thinking about what?" A mischievous grin stretched Daya's mouth. Muskaan smirked back up at him, her dark brown eyes twinkling. "Aren't you ashamed? Being a CID officer you can't even figure out what's running through your girlfriend's head?"

Daya laughed and prodded her affectionately in the shoulder. She punched him in the arm, and Abhijeet coughed significantly. "Hello, this is the CID bureau, you two! Show some professionalism!"

"Oh yeah, Abhijeet sir, like you and Tarika didn't flirt like hell in the forensic lab before your marriage," Muskaan retorted at once, and Daya snorted. "Before their marriage? Musi, they're still the same even after seven months of marriage."

"And showing no signs of relenting, either," Freddy agreed. "It really gets on ACP sir's nerves sometimes." Daya and Muskaan laughed and high-fived each other. "Whoa, here he comes now!" Abhijeet said hurriedly, and Daya and Muskaan jumped apart just as ACP Pradyuman walked into the room, yelling at someone over the phone.

"No, no, I understand perfectly. What's that? No, no, no, kindly be so good as to connect me with your supervisor. I have some serious complaints regarding the services I'm currently using."

"Mobile company," murmured Daya, and Freddy nodded, wide-eyed. "I pity that poor soul on the phone," he muttered. Abhijeet grinned, and ACP Pradyuman glared around at all of them. "I'll deal with you all later," he mouthed, and everyone determinedly kept straight faces.

When the ACP finally hung up the phone, Freddy blurted out the news at once. "Sir, you wouldn't believe what happened at Abhijeet sir's house this morning!"

"Abhijeet?" ACP Pradyuman turned to his right-hand-man, who was looking a little upset. "What's the matter? Is everything all right at home? With Tarika?"

Abhijeet's dark face clouded over as he told the whole story for the second time that morning. When he had finished, the ACP looked shocked.

"But how did she get there? Did she say anything?"

"She was burning up with fever, sir," Abhijeet told him. "Tarika and I put her to sleep straight away."

"Good," the ACP nodded in approval. Daya put a comforting hand on his best friend's shoulder, and Abhijeet sighed as the child's sleeping face flashed before his eyes.

ABHIJEET AND TARIKA'S HOUSE, THAT AFTERNOON

"Shriya, sweetie?" Tarika called softly as she patted the little girl's head. "Baby, wake up, please. See what I've got for you."

Shriya stirred, and opened her eyes a crack. "Wha-?" she asked faintly. Tarika carefully helped her sit up, making her lean against the pillows. "Here, look, I've brought hot soup for you. Eat it all up now, there's a good girl."

"Where...Ab...jeet...uncle..." Shriya mumbled.

"He's gone to work," Tarika told her, and held the soup spoon to the child's lips. "Eat up, now," she cajoled. Shriya hesitated a little, but obeyed. "Good girl," Tarika said happily, and soon Shriya finished all the soup. "Thank you," she said, and Tarika smiled. "Any time, darling. How do you feel now?"

"Better," Shriya said. "But my head feels heavy." She put a hand to her head, and Tarika felt her forehead. "The fever's almost gone. You want to sleep a little longer?" she asked kindly, and Shriya nodded, yawning. "Lie down," Tarika said, and Shriya lay down. Suddenly, she frowned up at Tarika, her little face scrunching in confusion. "Who are you?"

"I suppose you don't remember me," Tarika said. "I'm Abhijeet's wife. I work in the CID too."

"Oh," Shriya said, nodding in comprehension. She closed her eyes, shifted around a little, and was soon fast asleep. As she watched the little girl sleeping, Tarika felt something she'd never felt before- she felt a sense of motherhood. And it was every bit as beautiful a feeling as everyone made it out to be.

THAT EVENING

The doorbell rang just as Tarika finished combing Shriya's hair. "That must be Abhijeet," she told the child, whose eyes lit up. "Hang on, I'll go open the door."

Sure enough, it was the master of the house himself. "How's Shriya?" he demanded worriedly. Before Tarika could reply, however, Shriya herself came out into the hall.

A broad smile illuminated Abhijeet's dark face as Shriya hurried over to him. He deftly caught her up in his arms. "How are you feeling now?" he asked her as he carried her inside. A beaming Tarika followed them.

"Fine," Shriya told him as he set her down on the table. Abhijeet's face grew concerned, and he looked into the little girl's wide dark eyes, taking hold of her small hands. "Shriya, honey, tell me exactly what happened. How did you get here? Why did you leave home?"

The child's face fell faster than blinking. "My uncle," she said, and began to cry. A fire erupted in Abhijeet's dark eyes at once. "What did your uncle do?" he demanded.

"He's m-mean," Shriya hiccoughed. "He beats me. And Maya aunty shouts at me all the time. For whatever I do." Abhijeet's face filled with fury. "That's it," he growled. "I'm not going to spare that man."

"Abhijeet!" Tarika stepped forward at once and put a hand on her husband's shoulder. "Calm down!"

"I will not!" Abhijeet whirled around to glare at his wife. "He _promised_ me he'd take care of her! And now look what he's been doing!"

"Abhijeet," Tarika said despairingly, taking his face in her hands. "Please, just listen to me. You can think about that man later. Right now our priority is Shriya!"

Shriya's name was the magic word that brought Abhijeet back to reality. He turned back to the child and wiped the tears from her little face. "Do you want to go back to your uncle, Shriya?"

Shriya shook her head violently. "No way!" she declared vehemently. Abhijeet nodded. "Do you want to stay here, then? With us?" he asked her, his voice softening. Shriya's face brightened at once, and she flung her arms around Abhijeet. He hugged her tightly, and reached out and pulled Tarika into the group hug as well.

That moment was all it took for a new family to form.

NEXT MORNING

"Shriya," Tarika laughed as the little girl ran all around the house. "Honey, stay in one place, please."

"Let her play, na," Abhijeet defended as Shriya jumped onto the sofa beside him. Just then, the doorbell rang, and Tarika hurried to answer it.

"Hello!" ACP Pradyuman said brightly as he entered, followed by Daya, Muskaan, Freddy and Dr. Salunkhe. He smiled at Shriya as she and Abhijeet approached them. "And how are you?"

"I'm good," Shriya said, grinning back up at him. She shook hands with everyone.

"Lunch is ready," Tarika announced, and Dr. Salunkhe clapped his hands. "Excellent, I'm famished."

"Oh my God, Salunkhe." ACP Pradyuman was scandalised. "Show some decency!"

"Arreh, yaar," Dr. Salunkhe retorted. Daya and Muskaan covered their mouths with their hands to suppress their laughter, and Abhijeet and Tarika grinned at each other. "Tarika said lunch is ready, didn't she? I was complimenting her cooking!"

Shriya giggled, and Tarika pinched her cheek affectionately. Abhijeet smiled down at the little girl. "Come on, everyone," he said, and everyone crowded around the table to help themselves. Once their plates had been loaded, they arranged themselves around the living room.

An hour later, when everyone had finished their lunch, Shriya was sitting on Abhijeet's lap, being pampered to the fullest by the CID team. Daya and Muskaan insisted on taking turns feeding her ice-cream, which her eager mouth received only too happily. She took breaks in between to laugh at the funny stories that Freddy and ACP Pradyuman were telling her.

"You're all going to spoil her rotten, aren't you?" Tarika laughed, and Muskaan grinned. "We certainly are, Tarika."

"Any doubt?" Daya chuckled as he tweaked Shriya's tiny nose. She beamed, and Abhijeet hugged her. Tarika, standing at the table, smiled as she watched Abhijeet and Shriya. Suddenly, Dr. Salunkhe, who was beside her, reached up and tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey, Tarika."

"Yes, sir?" she looked questioningly at him. Her boss grinned. "You've fallen in love with the kid, haven't you?"

Tarika's smile broadened as she nodded. "I think all of us have, sir. Especially Abhijeet." She looked fondly at her husband, who was bouncing a giggling Shriya on his lap. Dr. Salunkhe raised his eyebrows. "So are you two going to adopt her?"

Tarika's dark face grew serious. "We want to, of course. But you know the complications, sir. Her uncle's still her legal guardian."

Dr. Salunkhe sighed. "That's true all right. But you do have a good chance, since her uncle was mistreating her." He scowled and shook his head. "Goodness knows how he had the heart to do it."

"What are you talking about?" ACP Pradyuman came over to deposit an empty ice-cream bowl onto the table. Dr. Salunkhe grinned. "About how Abhijeet and Tarika are probably going to make you a grandfather soon, Pradyuman." He gestured to Shriya, who was now riding on Freddy's shoulders.

ACP Pradyuman beamed. "That's great. But you and Abhijeet do realise the complications here, don't you, Tarika?" he asked the forensic scientist, who nodded. "Of course we do, sir. But we're prepared to make a fight of it."

"That's exactly what I'd expect of you two." The ACP's tone was approving. He looked over at Abhijeet, and smiled. His right-hand-man was certainly going to be as good a father as he was a CID officer.

MONDAY MORNING, CID BUREAU

"What exactly is Abhijeet so happy about?" ACP Pradyuman asked under his breath, looking curiously over at the senior inspector, who had been beaming like a 100-watt bulb all morning.

Daya grinned. "He's on cloud nine, sir," he said, shaking his head in affectionate exasperation at his best friend. ACP Pradyuman glowered up at Daya. "I can see that, thank you very much! But what's the _cause_ for it? Did he win the lottery or something?" Muskaan, who happened to overhear, laughed. "Close, sir. Very close." Upon receiving an infuriated look from the ACP, she hastened to explain. "Shriya's adopted him and Tarika as her parents."

ACP Pradyuman's expression cleared at once. "But that's wonderful!" he exclaimed happily. Daya shot his girlfriend a 'What-did-I-tell-you?' smirk, and she rolled her eyes up at him, but couldn't stop herself smiling.

Suddenly, the phone rang. ACP Pradyuman hurried to answer it. "Hello, CID Bureau," he said. He then raised his eyebrows. "What? A dead body? Where?" He listened, then nodded. "Right, we're on our way." Hanging up, he turned to face the questioning gazes of his team.

"Some people found a man dead in a car, near the outskirts of the city. Come on." He strode out of the room, and everyone followed.

CRIME SCENE

"See here, sir," Daya said, gesturing to the bruises on the dead man's face and neck. "I think he probably had a fight with his killer."

"Look at this mark," Muskaan added, peering over her boyfriend's shoulder and pointing. "The killer was probably wearing some kind of fancy ring."

"Hmm," ACP Pradyuman said, frowning through his sunglasses. "Abhijeet?" He looked at the senior inspector, who was leaning into the back of the car, scrutinising the interior carefully. "Did you find anything?"

Abhijeet's sharp eyes caught something at that precise moment. "Yes, sir." He reached into the car and took out the thing he had found. "This fellow dropped his wallet."

"Aha," Daya said as he noticed something else. "Sir, look at this." He pointed to the floor beneath the passenger seat. "A ground-up cigarette." Freddy looked up at him incredulously. "So that means...the killer was in the car? _With_ this guy?" he asked.

"It certainly seems so," ACP Pradyuman agreed. "What's in the wallet, Abhijeet?"

"Five hundred rupees, a piece of paper with some kind of code on it, another piece of paper with an address on it, a driving licence and a credit card," Abhijeet reeled off. He held up the driving licence. "This man's name is Vijay, sir. He lives quite far away from here."

"I see," ACP Pradyuman nodded. "Well, let's take this body to the forensic lab and see what Salunkhe can find out."

"If Dr. Salunkhe can find out stuff, so can my Tarika," Abhijeet muttered under his breath, and Daya grinned. "No one's questioning your wife's proficiency, Abhijeet." Muskaan, who happened to overhear, stifled a giggle, and Freddy looked indignant. "How come no one ever tells me anything?"

FORENSIC LAB

"Well, Salunkhe?" ACP Pradyuman demanded as the team entered the lab. "What's the verdict?"

Dr. Salunkhe's well-practised gaze never missed a thing. He noticed right away that Abhijeet and Tarika were smiling at each other, and cleared his throat significantly. "Tarika? If you and Abhijeet want to romance, for goodness sake get a room!"

Tarika's dark face turned a brilliant shade of scarlet, and Abhijeet's was no less. Daya and Muskaan exchanged gleeful smirks and surreptitiously shook hands. Freddy coughed theatrically.

"All right, that's enough, all of you!" barked ACP Pradyuman. "Why can't you just leave these two alone, Salunkhe?"

Dr. Salunkhe made no reply but to roll his eyes. Tarika and Abhijeet looked guiltily at each other, and Daya jumped to their rescue. "Right, as we were saying, how was Vijay killed?" Tarika knew a lifeline when she saw it, and grabbed it with both hands. "Peanuts," she announced.

"What?" ACP Pradyuman was incredulous. "Are you kidding, Tarika?"

"Nope," Dr. Salunkhe said, shaking his head. "We're completely serious. This fellow was killed by peanuts." He rolled his eyes at their confused faces. "Hello, have you guys never heard of allergies?"

"You mean he had a peanut allergy?" Abhijeet asked curiously. "So he died by eating peanuts?"

"On the contrary," Tarika told her husband. "He _drank_ peanuts." She gestured to the corpse. "Judging from the traces of beer we found around Vijay's mouth, I'd say he drank beer with powdered peanuts mixed in it."

"My God," Abhijeet said. "Sir?" He looked over at ACP Pradyuman. "This means the killer was someone who knew Vijay well, and knew he was allergic to peanuts. Maybe a friend or a relative?"

The ACP nodded. "You're right, Abhijeet." He furrowed his brow. "Daya, Muskaan? You two go look up the address we found in Vijay's wallet. Abhijeet, Freddy, come with me. We're going to Vijay's house."

Abhijeet had taken only a few steps toward the door when he suddenly remembered something, and came hurrying back. "Tarika, where's Shriya?"

"Safe and sound in the back room," Tarika assured her husband. "I'll go check on her as soon as I can." Abhijeet shot a glance at Dr. Salunkhe, who gave him a scandalised look. "What kind of a heartless tyrant do you think I am, Abhijeet? I care about your daughter, too!"

The words 'your daughter' were enough to make Abhijeet instantly display every single one of his teeth. Tarika smiled and shook her head at him exasperatedly. Abhijeet grinned at his wife and hurried out of the lab to catch up with the others.

DAYA AND MUSKAAN, SOMEWHERE IN THE HEART OF MUMBAI

"What on earth is this place?" Muskaan asked, looking out at the surroundings through the car window.

"You've never been here before?" Daya asked his girlfriend, who shook her head. "I've never even _heard_ of it, Daya!"

"Well then, madam," Daya said, grinning, "I know where to bring you for our next date." Muskaan gasped incredulously and hit him on the arm. "Shut up, Daya. I credit you with much better taste!"

"Hey, you know I was just kidding," Daya laughed as he parked the car. "This is the address, right?"

"Yeah," Muskaan affirmed, checking the card on which she had copied the address. The two inspectors got down from the car and went up to the house. Muskaan rang the bell a few times, with no response. "Looks like no one's lived here for a while," Daya said. Muskaan smirked up at her boyfriend. "Well then, what are you waiting for?"

Daya rolled his eyes, and with one mighty kick broke the door open. Though she had seen this a hundred times before, Muskaan whistled admiringly. "Wow. Smooth."

"Thank you," Daya said courteously as he held his gun aloft and stepped cautiously into the house. Pulling out her own gun, Muskaan followed him, looking around. The house was dark and dusty, confirming Daya's suspicions that no one had lived there for a while.

"Go that way, Muskaan," Daya instructed her, pointing with his gun. "See if you can find anything. And be careful!" he added as she went off. Daya went in the other direction, and soon afterward, both of them came back into the hall.

"Well?" Daya asked Muskaan. The female inspector smiled and held up a thick envelope. "Get a load of this. I found it hidden in a pillow case." Her boyfriend took it from her hands and examined it. "We'd better get this opened in the forensic lab, just in case. I don't think we should open it ourselves."

Muskaan nodded. "So did you find anything?"

"Oh, yeah," Daya said, and held up an address book and a CD. "There are lots of addresses and phone numbers in here," he told Muskaan, waving the address book. "And as for the CD, there wasn't a hint of dust on it. And the whole house is covered in dust."

"Aha," Muskaan understood at once. "Meaning someone kept it here recently."

"Exactly." Daya put the address book, CD and envelope into plastic bags labelled EVIDENCE. "Come on, let's get back to the bureau."

MEANWHILE, ACP PRADYUMAN, ABHIJEET AND FREDDY, VIJAY'S HOUSE

"No one's answering, sir."

ACP Pradyuman made an impatient noise. "Fine. Break the door." Freddy slammed himself against the door, and with a howl of shock went crashing to the floor inside.

"Freddy!" Abhijeet hurried in and extended his hands to Freddy, who caught hold of them and pulled himself to his feet with difficulty. "Thank you, sir! This door was already open!" he declared to ACP Pradyuman, whose eyes widened. "The door was _already_ open?"

Abhijeet glanced around at the house. "Looks like someone already got here before us." Sure enough, the house was in a dreadful mess, with everything scattered everywhere.

"My God," ACP Pradyuman said. "Abhijeet, Freddy, search the premises and see if you find anything!"

Within a few minutes, Freddy's voice resounded through the house. "Sir!"

ACP Pradyuman hurried towards him at once, and Abhijeet arrived on the scene a couple of seconds later. "What happened, Freddy?"

"I found a dead body!" Freddy exclaimed, gesturing wildly to the corpse that lay on the floor at his feet. "I opened this cupboard and it fell out from in there!"

"Looks like he was strangled, sir," Abhijeet said, gesturing to the black-and-blue marks on the man's neck. "I think he was killed fairly recently."

"You're right, Abhijeet," the ACP agreed. "Let's see what Salunkhe makes of this. And your excellent wife too, of course!" he added hurriedly to Abhijeet. "Sheesh, these youngsters," he muttered under his breath on the way out. Freddy's eyebrows flipped towards his hairline, and Abhijeet groaned in frustration as he strode out of the house, followed by the completely confused sub-inspector. "_Youngsters_? Since when is Abhijeet sir's age considered young?"

"Thanks a lot, Freddy," barked Abhijeet, shooting him his famous Shut-The-Hell-Up glare. Needless to say, it was successful as always.

FORENSIC LAB

Dr. Salunkhe had patiently endured more than six years of ACP Pradyuman's 'torture', as he secretly referred to it. But that didn't mean he was immune to shock. And ACP Pradyuman's loud voice shattering the sheer silence of the forensic lab had the potential to cause terrific shocks.

"Salunkhe!"

The good doctor nearly dropped the forceps he was holding. Swearing very colourfully through clenched teeth, he put it down and strode over to the ACP. "See here, Pradyuman," he growled, "it's common knowledge that you and me are virtually incapable of agreeing on anything. But the least you can do is avoid giving me a bloody heart attack every time you enter my lab!"

Muskaan's eyes widened. "He did not just say the word 'bloody' to ACP sir," she whispered to Daya, who looked as shocked as she did. "God. That man should get an award for sheer nerve."

"Tell me about it," Muskaan agreed. She stifled a giggle. "Looks like ACP sir's gonna explode."

Tarika, who had become accustomed to this routine, hadn't batted an eyelid. She merely rolled her eyes at Abhijeet, who was having a hard time trying not to grin. Just then, the door to the 'back room' as Tarika called it opened, and Shriya came skipping out. She hadn't gone more than three steps before her gaze fell on the two corpses. She turned the exact same shade of white as the sheets over the corpses, and her hands went over her mouth in horror. Her dark eyes were the size of two-rupee coins.

"Oh, damn," Dr. Salunkhe cursed under his breath, and hurriedly covered up the corpses. Abhijeet and Tarika hurried over to their daughter, and Shriya clung to her father, burying her face in his midriff. Abhijeet patted her head comfortingly, and Tarika rested a hand on the little girl's trembling shoulder. "Shh. It's OK, honey. Don't be afraid, now," she murmured soothingly.

"What on earth is wrong with you, Salunkhe?" ACP Pradyuman demanded in a fierce whisper. "You keep a small child in the _forensic lab?"_

"What am I supposed to do?" Dr. Salunkhe retorted. "Tarika wouldn't let the kid out of her sight! She insisted that I let her stay in the back room where she can keep an eye on her!"

"What's wrong with that?" Muskaan said defensively. "She can hardly be blamed for-"

"Wait a minute," Shriya's voice cut in. She had let go of Abhijeet and was frowning at the corpses, her small face twisted in apparent confusion. "Doctor uncle?" she asked, stepping forward.

"Yes, dear?" Dr. Salunkhe looked concerned as he came towards the little girl and bent down to her level. "What's the matter?" Shriya's frown deepened as she pointed at one of the corpses. "Show me that man's face, please." Daya's and Muskaan's jaws dropped in perfect unison, and Abhijeet looked flabbergasted. _"Shriya?"_ he asked incredulously. His dark face was utterly bewildered as he stared at his daughter. Beside him, Tarika's face bore a similar expression.

"Just show me his face once, Doctor uncle," Shriya repeated her request, looking earnestly up at Dr. Salunkhe. The forensic scientist looked as though she had just asked him to dance around the lab in a teddy bear costume, but finally gave in to her irresistible puppy-dog eyes and did as she asked.

Shriya scrutinised the dead man's face for a minute, and her face suddenly grew anxious as she looked up at the adults. "I've seen this man before."

"What?" all of them exclaimed in a chorus. "_You've_ seen him before?" Freddy asked Shriya, who nodded. "Yes, I've definitely seen him before." She furrowed her brow. "But I don't remember where..."

"That's all right," ACP Pradyuman said at once. He smiled kindly down at the seven-year-old. "Don't worry yourself over it. If you remember where you saw him, tell Papa, OK?"

"OK," Shriya agreed, and Abhijeet, who still looked shocked, stepped up to her and held her by the shoulders. "Come away from there, now," he told her, gently steering her away from the corpses.

"Tarika?" Dr. Salunkhe addressed his assistant, who looked questioningly at him. "Shriya's looking a little sick. I think you better take her home and let her rest for a while." Tarika hesitated, but looked down at her daughter. "Shriya? You want me to take you home?"

Shriya shook her head. "I want Papa," she declared, clinging to her father's side. Everyone laughed in spite of themselves, and ACP Pradyuman smiled. "Well then, you can go home too, Abhijeet."

"Are you sure it's all right, sir?" the senior inspector asked hesitantly, and the ACP nodded. "Yes, yes, it's fine. I'll send someone along to your house later to update you on the case's progress. You and Tarika take Shriya home now, and take good care of her."

"_That_ they certainly will," Daya said, grinning, and Dr. Salunkhe laughed. "As much as these two fool around in the lab, no one can deny that Shriya's lucky to get parents like them."

LATER IN THE EVENING, ABHIJEET, TARIKA AND SHRIYA'S HOUSE

"Here," Tarika announced as she brought a tray into the living room and set it down on the coffee table. "Your coffee," she handed Abhijeet his coffee cup, "your milk," she handed Shriya a glass of milk, "and my tea." She took her own teacup and sat down.

"Really, Shriya," Abhijeet said happily after finishing his coffee, "no one can make coffee the way your Mamma does."

Tarika rolled her eyes at this, but couldn't stop herself smiling. "Shut up, Abhijeet."

"Why should I?" Abhijeet asked, grinning. "Can't a man praise his wife's skills?" Tarika hit him lightly on the arm, and he laughed. "Sorry."

"Oh, my God," Shriya groaned, burying her head in her hands. "Do you two _have_ to be so cute in front of me?" she demanded in a long-suffering tone. Just then, the doorbell rang, and Shriya hurried over to answer it. When she beheld the huge frame of her father's best friend darkening the doorway, her small face broke into a broad grin. "Hi, Daya uncle!"

"Hi, Shriya," Daya said, bending down and picking her up as he stepped into the house. It was only then that Shriya noticed that he was accompanied by Muskaan. It was easy to see how Shriya hadn't noticed her- the female inspector's slender figure had been completely hidden by Daya's sheer vastness. "Feeling better?" Muskaan asked the child, smiling up at her. She carried a Tupperware container, and Shriya was delighted to note the delicious smell that was emanating from it.

"Hey, you two," Abhijeet greeted his colleagues as he and Tarika came up to them. "Come on, sit down," Tarika invited the inspectors, who obliged. Daya put Shriya onto his lap. "So, Shriya," he said conversationally. "What were Mamma and Papa doing before we got here?"

Abhijeet and Tarika turned scarlet, and Shriya made a face. "Don't ask, uncle! You and aunty saved my life! These two were acting so cute, I felt like I was watching a movie!"

"Movie?" hooted Muskaan. "Shriya, darling, your parents are much cuter than any movie I've seen!"

"That's true all right," Daya agreed, grinning at his best friend, who had buried his face in his hands. "Just ask Doctor uncle, Shriya, he'll agree wholeheartedly. He's been seeing it every day for almost two years, after all!"

Shriya's eyes widened. "Wow! I feel so sorry for Doctor uncle!" she exclaimed. Abhijeet made a hurt face at his daughter. "So now you've joined forces with Daya uncle in ragging me, huh?" The little girl looked scandalised. "Of course not, Papa!" she assured him, hopping off Daya's lap and climbing onto Abhijeet's. "I'm on your side. But it's just really weird when I see you and Mamma acting all cute."

"Just wait till you get older," Tarika laughed. "You'll start acting the same way."

Shriya shook her head firmly. "No way, Mamma. All boys are idiots."

"Hey," Abhijeet sounded mock-affronted. "_I'm _a boy!" Shriya rolled her eyes, looking impatient. "No, you're not. You're _Papa_."

"What about me, then?" Daya asked, grinning. "And Freddy uncle and ACP uncle and Doctor uncle?"

"Oh, come on!" Shriya snorted. "You're all _uncles!_ Not _boys! _Right, aunty?" she asked Muskaan, who smirked at Daya and leaned over to give Shriya a high-five. "Exactly!"

"Dinner's ready, people!" Tarika's voice called from the kitchen, and Tarika herself emerged a couple of minutes later, bearing a large dish. Muskaan hurried to help her with the other dishes, and Abhijeet and Daya went over to the dining table, each holding one of Shriya's hands. When she saw what was for dinner, Shriya looked positively thrilled. "Wow! I _love_ you, Muskaan aunty!"

Muskaan smiled (hah, bad pun). "Really? I'll make sure to bring it over regularly, then!" Shriya squealed with delight and hugged her.

"OK, OK, don't get too excited," Tarika told her daughter, though she was grinning. "Sit down, now," she said, and Shriya sat down in the chair beside Abhijeet's, preparing to attack her dinner.

Once dinner was over, Tarika and Muskaan went into the kitchen to do the dishes. Shriya hung around in the living room with Abhijeet and Daya. "Uh, Shriya," Daya called her. She came up to him, and he smiled. "Why don't you go to your Mamma and Muskaan aunty for a while? I have something important to discuss with your Papa."

Shriya raised her eyebrows as she looked from Daya to Abhijeet. "Some secret CID stuff?"

Abhijeet laughed. "Exactly," he said, patting her affectionately on the shoulder. "You run along, now. Go to Mamma." Shriya shrugged, and skipped off to the kitchen. Abhijeet turned back to Daya. "Yeah, what were you saying?"

Daya's face grew serious. "Muskaan and Freddy and I looked up some of the addresses in that address book we found."

"And?" Abhijeet asked warily. His best friend shook his head. "No leads as of yet. But then, we only tried like six or seven of them. There must be about thirty or so altogether."

"I see," the senior inspector nodded. He frowned in thought for a minute, then looked up at Daya. "I know one thing we can try," he said, and Daya's ears pricked up at once. This had become a reflexive action whenever Abhijeet said something like this. "What?"

A half-smile appeared on Abhijeet's face. "We can just put all those names through the computer, see if any of them are known criminals. If we get any hits, we can look up those guys first."

Daya's face brightened. "Hey, that's right." Just then, a small pair of arms slipped around Abhijeet's neck from behind, and he grinned. "Back so soon, Shriya?"

"Mamma and Muskaan aunty are washing dishes in there," Shriya informed her father as she came and sat in between him and Daya. "They kept on giggling about something, and wouldn't tell me when I asked them what the joke was."

Daya laughed, and Shriya frowned up at him. "Why are you laughing now, uncle?"

"Nothing, nothing," Daya chuckled, and Shriya rolled her eyes. "I thought only Mamma and Muskaan aunty were doing that, but now you've started it, too!"

TUESDAY MORNING, CID BUREAU

Muskaan was smiling to herself as she watched Abhijeet talking to Shriya, who was sitting on the table in front of him. He started tickling the little girl, and she giggled gleefully, trying to fight him off. When he stopped, she gave him a big hug and a kiss on the cheek.

Across the room, Daya too was smiling as he watched his girlfriend. He loved her smile- it really lived up to her name. Her whole face was radiant as she looked at Abhijeet and Shriya. And her hair was looking so soft and shiny...

"Ahem!"

Daya was jerked out of his Muskaan-induced trance by a theatrical throat-clearing beside him. "What, Freddy?" he asked, his tone rather annoyed at being so rudely interrupted. The sub-inspector's face bore an expression of tremendous smugness. Daya raised his eyebrows. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"The weather is very nice today, isn't it, sir?" Freddy asked innocently. Daya glowered at him, and he hurried away to a safer place, snickering.

Just then, the phone rang. Daya strode over to answer it. "Hello, CID Bureau?" He listened for a while, then his eyes widened in shock. "One minute," he said, and quickly covered the mouthpiece of the phone with one hand. "Psst! Muskaan!" he hissed, and his girlfriend looked questioningly over at him.

He gestured to her to come to him, and she came, frowning slightly in confusion. "Get Abhijeet and Shriya out of this room, now. I don't want them to hear this." Seeing that she was about to say something, he shook his head. "I'll explain later. Just get them out of here, quick." Muskaan nodded, and went off with Abhijeet and Shriya. Daya sighed with relief and took his hand off the mouthpiece. "Yes, you were saying?"

"My niece Shriya is missing, sir," Shriya's uncle Pratik repeated.

"How long has she been missing?" Daya asked him. "About three days now," Pratik replied. "I have a feeling she might have been kidnapped. Many of her clothes are missing, as well as her favourite sketch pens."

Daya narrowed his eyes. Some nerve the man had, reporting that his niece had been kidnapped while he himself had been treating her so badly. "Could she possibly have run away?"

"Certainly not, sir." Pratik seemed confident. "I'm her only living relative. She doesn't have anywhere else to go." It took all of Daya's self-restraint to stop himself from calling the man all kinds of highly unflattering names.

He took a deep breath before replying. "Right. Please give me a description of your niece." Once Pratik had done so, Daya knew he really had to hang up before he lost control and gave the man an earful of his choicest insults. "Right. We'll try to find her as soon as possible."

He put the receiver down with a little more force than was necessary, and Muskaan, who was just coming back into the room, raised an eyebrow. "Whoa. What was _that_ all about?"

Daya turned to her. "It was Shriya's stupid-" he called Pratik something that made Muskaan's eyes widen "-of an uncle. Calling to report that his niece is missing and he suspects that she might have been kidnapped."

Muskaan shared her boyfriend's indignation. "That's what he is, all right," she declared hotly. "I can't believe he actually had the nerve to act like a perfect guardian and report that Shriya's missing."

Daya's face clouded over as something occurred to him. "Muskaan, I highly doubt I'll have the courage to face Abhijeet when I give him this news." Muskaan nodded emphatically. "Exactly," she agreed. "Knowing him, he's going to _explode_. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he has a coronary then and there."

"Where are he and Shriya?" Daya asked her. "Forensic lab," Muskaan replied, smiling faintly. "I figured he could use some Tarika-therapy before you dropped whatever bomb it was on his head." Daya sighed as he took hold of his girlfriend's hands. "Remind me again what I'd do without you?"

"That's seriously gotten old," Muskaan laughed. "But it's still nice to hear." She took a few steps back and half-led, half-dragged him to the forensic lab.

FORENSIC LAB

Dr. Salunkhe, by some miracle, seemed to be in a very good mood that day. There was a spring in his step and a light in his eyes, and he was actually humming to himself as he examined samples under the microscope.

Abhijeet was watching his wife's boss with increasing amazement. "What on earth is the matter with him?" he whispered to Tarika, who was measuring out a blue chemical. She grinned. "Oh, nothing. He's just got a new girlfriend."

Abhijeet's dark eyes widened to nearly twice their usual size. "New girlfriend? _Dr. Salunkhe_? You have got to be kidding me!"

Tarika shook her head, her eyes twinkling. "Nope. I'm absolutely serious." Her tone turned mischievous. "Why? Are you jealous?"

Abhijeet smirked. "Why would I be jealous? I'm married to the best girl in the world. _He_ should be jealous of _me_," he told her, and she blushed as she put down her conical flask. "Stop it, Abhijeet. He'll hear!"

"So let him hear," Abhijeet said dismissively. "What do I care? I can talk to my wife whenever I want."

"Well, at any rate, Shriya's watching us," Tarika informed her husband, elbowing him in the ribs and inclining her head in their daughter's direction. "You don't want to traumatise her, do you?" Abhijeet made a sad puppy-dog face at her, and she suppressed a giggle as he went over to Shriya, who was looking highly disgusted. "Sheesh, Papa! It's bad enough that I have to put up with this at home! Now you two have started here, too?" she complained.

Dr. Salunkhe, happening to overhear, laughed. "Shriya, sweetie, I've been putting up with their romancing in my lab for much longer than you have." He rolled his eyes. "I hope you haven't accidentally brewed up any explosive chemicals in the process, Tarika!"

"Of course not, sir," Tarika said, sounding appalled, just as the lab door opened and Daya's head appeared around the doorway. "Abhijeet?" he called, and signalled to his best friend to come out for a minute, mouthing "I have to talk to you."

Looking curious, Abhijeet went out of the lab, and Daya shut the door again. Through the glass, Tarika could see Daya telling Abhijeet something. The latter looked positively outraged upon hearing it, and began to say something forcefully, gesturing wildly with his hands. Tarika frowned. Something was up, and it didn't look like anything good.

"Sir? I'll just come in a minute," she told Dr. Salunkhe, who absently dismissed her with a wave of his hand as he adjusted the focus of his microscope. Tarika came out of the lab to find Abhijeet looking incredibly angry, and Daya looking upset and tense. "What's the matter?" she asked, looking from her husband to his best friend. "Is something wrong?"

"Shriya's uncle called," Daya told her, his voice low and terse. "He reported that she's gone missing and claimed that she may have been kidnapped."

Tarika was not usually a short-tempered woman, but this made her unspeakably mad. "What the hell? How _dare_ he? After treating her as the way he did, he thinks he can just-"

"I am _not_ giving her back to him," Abhijeet growled. "No way in hell am I letting my _daughter_ within _ten feet_ of that man!"

"If he tries to take her away, he'll have to do it over my dead body," Tarika said violently, punching her palm to emphasise her point.

"Don't worry, you guys," Daya tried to reassure his friends. "Shriya's statement counts against him. They can't make her go back to him if it's proved that he was hurting her."

From inside the lab, the little girl in question was watching Daya talk to her parents. She frowned. Her Mamma and Papa looked upset and angry. What could the matter be?

"Shriya?" She looked up to meet Dr. Salunkhe's concerned gaze. "Are you all right?" Shriya gave him a fake smile. "Yes, Doctor uncle, I'm fine." Dr. Salunkhe patted her head and went back to his chemical analysis. Through the glass door, Shriya saw that her parents and Daya still looked highly disturbed.

She would have to get to the bottom of this. And to get to the bottom of the mystery, she would first have to go to the top.

ACP PRADYUMAN'S ROOM

ACP Pradyuman was frowning in thought as he examined the code they had found in Vijay's wallet. He was so absorbed in it that he didn't even notice the first time Shriya knocked on his door.

Shriya scowled. What was ACP uncle doing? She knocked again, but her tiny knuckles didn't make a very impressive noise against the glass. She decided to try a different tactic. "ACP uncle!" she called, hopping up and down and waving to him. "I need to talk to you!"

That finally got ACP Pradyuman's attention, and he looked up to see Shriya hopping up and down outside his room, saying something he couldn't hear properly. He hurried to let her into the room, and she looked seriously up at him. "ACP uncle, I need to talk to you."

"Of course," ACP Pradyuman said, though he was highly confused. "What's the matter?" he asked, sitting down in his chair and gesturing to her to sit opposite him. She sat down, and leaned forward, clutching the edge of the table with both hands. "ACP uncle, I think something's wrong. Just now I was in Doctor uncle's room with Mamma and Papa."

"And what happened there?" ACP Pradyuman asked. Shriya's small face grew worried. "Daya uncle came there. He called Papa out, and he and Papa were talking. I don't know what they said, but Papa looked really, _really_ mad. Mamma went out to see, and then she looked really angry too. Daya uncle looked very upset. I think some problem's come up."

The ACP frowned. "Problem? What could it be?" he wondered, just as Abhijeet and Daya hurried up to the room and knocked on the glass door. ACP Pradyuman gestured to them to come in, and Abhijeet entered the room, looking worried. "Sir, is Shriya-"

"Here," ACP Pradyuman gestured to the little girl opposite him, and Shriya hopped off the chair. "I'm right here, Papa."

"Thank God," Daya said in relief. "Your father looked ready to have a heart attack any minute."

"Don't run off again, you hear," Abhijeet admonished his daughter. "Stay with me or with Mamma at all times."

"OK," Shriya said, and ACP Pradyuman stood up from his chair. "Daya, take Shriya to the forensic lab," he instructed, and Daya complied, taking the little girl by the hand and leading her out of the room. The ACP scrutinised Abhijeet's face. "Abhijeet, Shriya was telling me that you and Tarika and Daya seemed upset about something."

Abhijeet nodded, the old fierceness entering his eyes once again. "Yes, sir. In fact, I'm angry enough to kill right now."

"But what's the matter? What happened?" demanded ACP Pradyuman. Abhijeet told him the whole story, and the ACP was scandalised. "My God. I can't believe that man's audacity!"

"Tell me about it, sir," Abhijeet agreed fiercely. "If that Pratik came before me now, I'd certainly kill him with my bare hands."

"Calm down, Abhijeet," ACP Pradyuman urged. "We can all discuss this later like responsible adults. Right now, I need the team assembled." He massaged his temples wearily. "I just can't seem to crack this code we found."

"I'll get the team here, sir," Abhijeet told him, and went off to look for his colleagues. He first ran into Daya, who was returning from the forensic lab, and the two of them came across Muskaan, who was on her way back from the ladies' room where she had been applying lipstick. Freddy came upstairs from the canteen, and the whole team came back into the meeting room. "CID team reporting, sir," Abhijeet announced as he strode in, followed by his colleagues. "Any luck on the code?"

"No," ACP Pradyuman said, a tinge of frustration lining his voice. "Take a look, everyone." The team sat down at the table, and ACP Pradyuman shoved the paper across the table at Abhijeet. "See if you can get anything out of this, Abhijeet."

Abhijeet examined the paper. It looked like some kind of foreign language. The script was completely unfamiliar. "Looks like a foreign language," he said, holding up the paper for everyone else to see. He passed it to Daya and Muskaan, and they had no luck either.

"Can I see, sir?" Freddy asked tentatively. ACP Pradyuman rolled his eyes, but gestured to Daya to give Freddy the paper. The sub-inspector took one look, and burst out laughing. "What the hell?" Muskaan muttered under her breath as she, Daya and Abhijeet looked incredulously at Freddy. ACP Pradyuman looked ready to kill him. "Might I know what you find so amusing, Freddy?" he barked.

"Sir," Freddy chortled. "I can't believe you guys didn't figure this out!"

"You recognise this code?" Daya asked in disbelief. Freddy stood up. "Come with me, everyone. I'll show you what I mean!" With that, he about-turned and went out of the room. The team exchanged confused glances, but followed him. When Freddy stopped outside a room, Muskaan gasped. "Wh-"

"You want us to go into the_ ladies'_ restroom?" Abhijeet asked slowly. "Are you feeling all right, Freddy?" He looked up to meet Daya's shocked eyes. "I think he's started hitting the bottle again," the inspector muttered to his best friend.

"Freddy, there had better be some logical explanation for this madness," growled ACP Pradyuman. "OK, Muskaan, you better go first." He made a helpless gesture towards the bathroom door, and Muskaan, looking as though she wanted to sink into the earth, opened the door and stepped inside.

No sooner had she entered, than the four men dashed into the bathroom, Daya slamming the door behind him. "Phew! I hope no one saw us coming in here!" he exclaimed fervently, leaning against it and mopping his brow.

"If they did, I'll never be able to look Tarika in the face again," Abhijeet said, shaking his head. The senior inspector looked ready to commit suicide.

"Well, unless you brought us here to watch Muskaan do her make-up, hurry up and tell us what you figured out, Freddy," ACP Pradyuman snapped, and Freddy rolled his eyes. "See for yourselves," he said, and held up the code in front of the large wall mirrors.

"Oh my God," Muskaan's voice was faint. "Tell me about it!" Daya agreed, staring at the reflection.

"No wonder we couldn't read it!" Abhijeet exclaimed, smacking himself on the head. "It's written in reverse letters!"

ACP Pradyuman read the message aloud. _"Meet at the lighthouse at seven in the evening on the twenty-second of July. The goods will arrive by eight."_ He looked around at his team. "Aha. So this is the matter."

"A smuggling racket." Abhijeet suddenly snapped his fingers as he remembered something. "Sir...what happened to the watch I found in Vijay's car?"

Daya's eyes widened. "You think-"

"It's worth a try," ACP Pradyuman agreed. He wagged his finger, as was his habit. "Let's get out of this hellhole first- no offense, Muskaan- and then we'll go get the watch and show it to Salunkhe."

"This way, sir," Muskaan said courteously and opened the bathroom door.

The four men went barrelling out of there as fast as they could. Muskaan shut the door behind them, and just couldn't hold it in any more. She burst out laughing, doubling over and clutching her sides. "Oh...my...God...that...was...bloody..._priceless!"_

FORENSIC LAB

"This watch proved pretty useful, boss," Dr. Salunkhe told ACP Pradyuman as he examined it. "There are several skin cells and a trace of blood on it. If you bring me a few suspects, I can do a DNA test and find out whose watch it is."

"Good thinking, Abhijeet," ACP Pradyuman complimented his right-hand-man, who smiled. "Thank you, sir." His face grew serious. "Daya and Muskaan are putting the names in the address book through the criminal records."

"I know," ACP Pradyuman nodded. He then looked concerned. "By the way, did we receive any other communication from Shriya's uncle?"

"No, sir." Tarika shook her head, her curly hair swinging back and forth. "Nothing at all. And that isn't exactly a bad thing," she added, a hint of venom seeping into her voice. Abhijeet put a hand on her shoulder, and she looked at him. He silently shook his head, giving her a look that said _"Not now"._

"Mamma? Papa?" Shriya's voice broke the silence, and Abhijeet's and Tarika's expressions cleared almost magically as their daughter bounced up to them. "I'm hungry," she proclaimed.

"And no wonder," Dr. Salunkhe put in as he checked his watch. "It's lunchtime. Come on, let's all go," he said, and everyone happily exited the lab, Abhijeet carrying Shriya.

AFTER LUNCH

"Well, you guys?" Abhijeet asked Daya and Muskaan, perching on the edge of the computer table they were both huddled over. "Any hits?"

"Yup," Muskaan affirmed, picked up a computer printout and held it out to him. Abhijeet took the printout and scanned it quickly. "Wow. _Five_ people?"

"Uh-huh," Daya nodded. "And that's not all." He held up the CD he had found earlier. "This has a video in it."

"What kind of video?" Abhijeet enquired. Daya shrugged his broad shoulders. "We just saw that it contains a video recording. We figured it might be something we should all take a look at together."

"Right," Abhijeet agreed, just as Freddy came over. "You guys are having a meeting without me?" he asked, looking hurt. Daya rolled his eyes, and Muskaan grinned. Abhijeet gave Freddy an exasperated look. "We aren't having a meeting, Freddy. We're just discussing."

"And what are you all discussing?" ACP Pradyuman's authoritative tones filled the room as he came in and approached them. "Something I should know?"

"Yes, sir," Abhijeet said. "Daya and Muskaan say there's a video recording in this CD."

"A video recording?" ACP Pradyuman raised an eyebrow. "Well, let's go to the projection room and have a look at it, then."

The video showed a group of men passing boxes from a boat to the shore. In the background, they could see a lighthouse. "Ah," Abhijeet said, his agile mind racing at top speed. "I've got it."

"What?" ACP Pradyuman questioned, and Abhijeet pointed at the video screen. "I think, sir, that one of the gang must have turned against the others. Either that, or he was trying to blackmail them." Daya caught on right away. "And it could be one of those two men we found dead."

"Where did you two find this CD, again?" ACP Pradyuman asked Daya and Muskaan. "At the address we found in Vijay's wallet, sir," Muskaan replied. "We also found an envelope of photos there."

"I have them right here, sir," Daya said, holding up the envelope. "Dr. Tarika opened the envelope with steam, Abhijeet," he added, grinning at Abhijeet, who beamed.

ACP Pradyuman pulled on his gloves before taking the envelope from Daya. He then overturned the envelope, and the photos slid out onto the table. They were all similar to the video- they depicted various stages in the process of smuggling. "Here, Freddy, take these to the forensic lab," ACP Pradyuman ordered, putting all the photos back into the envelope and handing it to Freddy. "See if any fingerprints are found on them."

Freddy left the projection room, and ACP Pradyuman looked around at Abhijeet, Daya and Muskaan. "You three, listen up. We're going back to Vijay's house, and turning the place inside out. Let's see if we find anything else."

VIJAY'S HOUSE

"Sir?" Muskaan's voice said from one corner of the house, and she herself emerged a minute later. Her long dark hair was covered in dust, and her light pink shirt was suffering a similar fate, but she was grinning triumphantly. "Look at this." She held up a silver-coloured mobile phone.

ACP Pradyuman raised his eyebrows. "Where did you find that?"

"In the same room in which we found that man's dead body," Abhijeet informed him as he came into view, dusting off his dark coat. He ruffled his hair to get rid of some dust that had gotten into it, just as Daya came out of the other side of the house. "Nothing, sir," he said.

"Well, we found this," Muskaan showed him the mobile phone as Abhijeet combed his mussed hair back into place with his fingers. Daya looked surprised. "He left his mobile here?"

Muskaan shook her head. "I don't think so." Daya snorted in disapproval as he reached over and wiped the dust off Muskaan's hair. She rolled her eyes up at him as she dusted off her shirt.

"Judging by the condition in which we found that room, I'd say Vijay had a fight with that man and his mobile phone fell out of his pocket in the process," Abhijeet elaborated. "It was the same room in which we found that dead body, Daya," he explained when his best friend looked confused.

"One strange thing about this house, sir," Daya said to ACP Pradyuman, who looked curious. "There's no phone here apart from this mobile." He gestured to the silver mobile phone in his girlfriend's hand.

"No phone?" ACP Pradyuman echoed, and frowned. "That's strange, all right."

"I have a hunch he didn't want to take any risks, sir," Muskaan suggested, and Abhijeet nodded in agreement. "Exactly. He must have been paranoid about phone taps."

"Meaning he was playing an important role in the business," Daya finished, and ACP Pradyuman snapped his fingers appreciatively. "Fantastic. Muskaan?" he turned to the female inspector, who stepped forward at once. "Check Vijay's mobile and see where the last call came from."

Muskaan obeyed, and walked away from the others as she put the phone to her ear. A few seconds later, she turned and shook her head. "It says the phone's switched off, sir."

"Never mind," said ACP Pradyuman. "Bring this phone back to the bureau and trace that number."

FORENSIC LAB

Shriya hummed quietly as she sketched the outline of a house with great concentration. She was oblivious to the world around her- it seemed as though nothing existed but her, her paper and her sketch pens.

She had just begun to draw windows on the house, when suddenly something hit her like a ton of bricks. Her senses reeled, and she dropped the sketch pen she held, not even hearing it fall to the floor. She began to tremble, as her heart hammered against her ribs.

Through the shock that sent her head spinning, one thought formed clearly in her mind- or rather, a memory came to her. The memory of what she had been told to do when this happened.

At once, Shriya scrambled to her feet and bolted out of the forensic lab.

"Shriya?" Tarika exclaimed in amazement, staring at her daughter as the child opened the glass door and ran out of the room. Dr. Salunkhe looked stunned. "What's the matter with _her?"_

"I don't know, sir," Tarika said worriedly. "One minute she was just sitting and drawing, and then suddenly she got up and ran out."

"Maybe she was missing her father," Dr. Salunkhe suggested. "But then why would she dash out like that all of a sudden without even telling you?"

MAIN ROOM OF BUREAU

"Maybe it's drugs," Daya suggested.

"Could be, sir," Freddy agreed. "Or something else, like illegal weapons?"

"Well, whatever it is, we know it's being brought to the light-" Abhijeet was cut off by the pounding of sneakers outside the room, growing louder and louder. "Papa! Papa!" Shriya's voice was yelling.

"Shriya?" Abhijeet hurried to the doorway at once, and his daughter crashed headlong into him a second later. Abhijeet grabbed her shoulders to keep her from falling down, and she looked up at him, her dark eyes terrified. "What's the matter, sweetheart?" he asked in concern, kneeling down and taking her face in his hands.

"Papa," Shriya choked out. She was panting, and sweat beaded her forehead. "I...I just...I just remembered..."

"What did you remember?" Abhijeet asked her, and she looked even more scared than ever. "That man...the man whose dead body is in Doctor uncle's room...I remember where I saw him!"

"What?" Daya jumped up from his seat and came forward, Freddy following at his heels. "Where did you see him, dear?" Daya asked urgently, bending down to Shriya's level- which was saying something considering his impressive height- and placing a gentle hand on her head.

"Outside..." Shriya paused, and Abhijeet could see that she was on the verge of tears. "Outside my uncle's house."

The effect these words had on the three men was, to put it simply, immense. Abhijeet's jaw dropped, Freddy's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, and Daya froze to the spot. It took a full minute for them to fully process the information. While they were still in their dumbfounded state, Muskaan came running into the room. "Guys!" she gasped. That jerked them back to reality, and Abhijeet rose to his feet at once. "What is it, Muskaan?"

"Are you OK?" Daya asked his girlfriend, looking concerned as he stepped towards her. Muskaan's eyes were wide and shocked as she looked up at him.

"You look like the sky just fell on your head!" Freddy exclaimed, and Muskaan shook her head, looking dazed. "Believe me, Freddy, when you hear this news, you'll look even worse!"

"But what _is_ this shocking news you have for us, Muskaan?" demanded Daya. Muskaan held up a sheet of paper. "Guess who made the last call to Vijay's mobile?"

"Guess?" Abhijeet frowned. "You mean it's someone we know?"

"Who was it, Muskaan?" Freddy asked, and Muskaan looked at Abhijeet. "Pratik. As in Shriya's uncle Pratik," she stated, and Abhijeet, Daya and Freddy fell right back into their dumbfounded state.

"My...God," Abhijeet said faintly. Daya stared at his girlfriend as though she had just told him she was ditching him for Dr. Salunkhe, and Freddy looked as though he would fall down unconscious any minute. Suddenly, Abhijeet became aware of Shriya trembling beside him. "It's OK, honey," he said, patting her shoulder reassuringly.

"I'm scared," Shriya whimpered. She was clinging to her father as though her life depended on it, her eyes brimming over with tears. "Papa, I'm really scared."

"Shh," Abhijeet shushed the little girl, picking her up in his arms. She began to cry in earnest now, and he wiped away each tear as it fell. "Shh, don't cry. It's OK. Papa's here, Papa's got you. Don't be scared, now."

"W-what's going to happen now, Papa?" Shriya asked, her voice quivering with sobs. "Will my uncle come and take me away?"

"No, he won't," Abhijeet assured her fiercely. "Your Mamma and I won't let him take you away from us. You're our little girl, aren't you?"

"That's right," Daya agreed, stepping forward and taking Shriya's tiny hand in his big one, patting it comfortingly. He smiled at her. "If that uncle of yours even thinks about it, I'll be happy to give him a good slap across the face," he promised. "And believe me, that'll be something he'll never forget as long as he lives."

Shriya gave him a watery smile, and Muskaan grinned as she came and stood beside Daya. "There, that's more like it! Cheer up, now. We'll catch your stupid uncle, and Daya uncle here will pick him up like a sack of potatoes and throw him in jail where he belongs," she told the little girl, who laughed in spite of herself.

"What's going on here?" ACP Pradyuman's unmistakeable voice asked as he stood in the doorway, staring in surprise at the scene before him- Abhijeet carrying a tearful Shriya, with Daya, Muskaan and Freddy all surrounding him. "We just found out something, sir," Daya told him. "And believe me, when you hear it it's going to make the ground tremble under your feet."

ACP Pradyuman raised his eyebrows. "Really? And what is this earthquake-inducing news, pray?"

"You know the dead man we found in Vijay's house, sir?" Muskaan asked.

"Shriya just remembered that she saw him outside her uncle's house," Abhijeet informed the ACP, who looked thunderstruck. "Oh my God! Shriya?" he looked at the little girl, noticing her tear-stained face. "Is this true?" Shriya nodded, wiping her sticky cheeks with the back of her hand. "Yes, ACP uncle."

"When? When did you see him?" ACP Pradyuman questioned. Shriya's brow furrowed in thought, and then her eyes brightened. "It was the night I ran away from my uncle's house."

"What?" ACP Pradyuman was flabbergasted. "On the night you ran away?" Shriya nodded, her voice becoming stronger. "I remember clearly. I was packing up my things, when I happened to look out of the window. I saw that man standing outside the gate. He was walking here and there, and kept looking up at the house."

Something suddenly struck Daya. "Shriya?" he addressed the seven-year-old, and she turned to look at him. "If I remember correctly, you ran away four days ago, right? On Friday night?"

"Yeah," Shriya affirmed, and Abhijeet caught on at once. "And sir, Tarika said that man was killed on Saturday. The very next day."

"Meaning that man had some connection with Shriya's uncle?" Freddy piped up.

"Exactly, Freddy, exactly!" ACP Pradyuman agreed, wagging his finger at the sub-inspector. "And if you all remember, we found Vijay's dead body on Monday morning-"

"And he was killed on Sunday night!" Muskaan realised, looking completely floored.

"Plus, the last call Vijay got on his mobile was from Shriya's uncle Pratik..." supplied Freddy.

"_On Sunday night!"_ Daya and Muskaan finished in perfect, unrehearsed unison. "Papa, my head is spinning," Shriya declared, leaning the aforementioned head on her father's shoulder. Abhijeet looked helplessly at his daughter. "So is mine, Shriya!"

ACP Pradyuman clapped his hands. "So the key to this whole mystery is Pratik!" he proclaimed triumphantly. "Let's go, all of you! Pratik's house!"

Shriya stiffened at once in Abhijeet's arms, and he spoke up. "Sir, could I just take Shriya back to Tarika before we leave?"

"Of course, of course," ACP Pradyuman agreed hastily. "You took the words right out of my mouth. And Shriya?" He smiled at the little girl. "If you hadn't remembered that man, we wouldn't have figured all this out. Look here, Abhijeet," he turned to his right-hand-man. "Take good care of this daughter of yours. We could use a brain like hers in the CID someday!" Abhijeet beamed so brightly that he seemed to light up the whole room. "Thank you, sir." Shriya grinned at him, and he kissed her on the cheek. "Come on, genius. Let's go to Mamma."

He carried her out of the room, and Daya and Muskaan exchanged smiles. ACP Pradyuman shook his head, chuckling, and Freddy grinned gleefully from ear to ear. It was a rare occasion seeing the CID team so happy, but when the occasion did arise, it was truly a sight worth seeing.

OUTSIDE PRATIK'S HOUSE

Abhijeet rang the doorbell thrice, but there was no answer. He then knocked, but in vain, and as was usual in such cases, ACP Pradyuman turned to the muscle power of the team. "Daya, break the door."

Daya grinned. This was the second perk of his job that he particularly loved- the first being a certain lady inspector with long shiny hair and fighting skills to rival his own. Taking a couple of steps back, he came forward and delivered an almighty kick on the door that sent it banging open.

The banging of the door against the wall wasn't the only thing that greeted the team upon their entry into the house. In the middle of the hall, on the sofa, lay a man with blood all over his shirt, groaning faintly. Everyone recognised him instantly, and Abhijeet's face grew murderous. _"Pratik," _he spat.

"Oh my God," ACP Pradyuman hurried over. "He's been shot." The dying man was gasping for breath, and he was struggling to say something. "Sh...sh..."

"What?" Daya asked, leaning over him. "What is it?"

"Sh...Shriya," Pratik finally managed to gasp. "Shriya..."

"What about Shriya?" Abhijeet demanded, anxiety filling his voice. Pratik grimaced. "T-tell..." he said feebly again, then choked. "T-t-tell Sh...Shriya..." his voice grew faint and he fell silent as he breathed his last. Abhijeet stared down at the dead man, a frozen expression on his face.

"Abhijeet?" he heard Daya's voice say, and felt his best friend's heavy but gentle hand on his shoulder. "Are you all right?"

The senior inspector nodded. "Yeah." He sighed. "Daya, I've spent the past four days hating this guy's guts for how he treated my Shriya...and now that he's died before my eyes, I feel strange looking at him." He averted his eyes from Pratik's dead body as he pulled on his gloves, and his heart nearly stopped as something suddenly occurred to him. "Sir?"

"Yes?" ACP Pradyuman looked questioningly up at Abhijeet as he hurried over. "Sir, I think Shriya might be in danger. From the way Pratik kept saying her name as he died, I have a feeling something might happen to her," Abhijeet said urgently, a trace of fear flashing in his dark eyes.

ACP Pradyuman's eyes widened. "Quick, call your house and check if Tarika and Shriya are all right," he ordered, and Abhijeet wasted no time in carrying out the order. Taking out his mobile, he speed-dialled his home number. Tarika picked up almost at once. "Hello?"

"Tarika?" Abhijeet heaved a huge sigh of relief, but the next second his voice grew frantic. "Tarika, are you and Shriya OK?"

Tarika sounded confused. "Yes, of course we're OK. What's the matter? Why do you sound so panicky?" she demanded. She knew her husband inside out, and could tell at once when he was upset, angry or tense.

Abhijeet dodged the question. "Listen to me very carefully, Tarika. Lock all the doors and windows and keep Shriya with you. Whatever you do, do _not_ open the door for _anyone_. I'm coming home now, but I'll open the door with my own key. Stay in the hall, and keep Shriya with you, OK? Don't let her out of your sight."

"OK, but what's this all ab-" Tarika started, but Abhijeet cut her off. "Please, Tarika, just do as I say. I'll be home as soon as possible. Be safe...and I love you." He hung up, and Freddy looked worriedly at him. "Sir, I think you should leave right away."

"Freddy's right," agreed ACP Pradyuman. "We'll take care of this matter, Abhijeet. You'd better go home right now. Daya?" he looked up at the inspector. "Go with him. Stay at his house tonight if you have to. I don't want to take any chances." Daya hesitated. "Is that OK with you, Abhijeet?" he asked his best friend, who nodded. "It's fine with me." He glanced at Muskaan, and she nodded as well, giving Daya a reassuring smile. "It's OK," she mouthed, and he smiled back at her.

"Right, sir, we'll get going now. Come on, Daya," said Abhijeet, and they both hurried out of the house, Daya mouthing a 'Love you' to Muskaan over his shoulder as they left.

ABHIJEET, TARIKA AND SHRIYA'S HOUSE

Shriya's brow furrowed as she scrutinised her mother's worried face. Something was bothering her, the little girl could see perfectly well. But what could it be? And where was her Papa? It was almost 9 o'clock, and he was usually home by this time.

As though by magic, there was the sound of a key being inserted in the lock of the front door, and Tarika jumped to her feet as though the sofa had caught fire. The door opened to reveal an anxious-looking Abhijeet, with a grim-faced Daya behind him.

"Abhi-" Tarika didn't even have time to finish saying her husband's name before he strode in, grabbed her by the shoulders and, to the utter disgust of their poor daughter, laid such a kiss on her that it would have made any Hollywood actor go green in the face. Indeed, Daya covered his eyes with both hands, fighting to control his laughter.

Shriya was one step ahead. She hugged her knees to her chest, so that her face was buried in the skirt of her white jumper dress. "Daya uncle, tell me when it's over!" she said, her voice muffled by a mouthful of khaki. Taking this as a cue, Abhijeet hurriedly let go of Tarika and ran over to Shriya. Before she even realised he was near her, she found herself being practically strangled to death with the tightness of her father's hug. "Thank God you're OK," he mumbled, his voice cracking with sheer relief.

"Papa..." Shriya wheezed. "Can't...breathe..."

Abhijeet released her at once, but kept one arm around her. "Sorry, baby. I'm just so glad to see you and your Mamma safe..."

"I'll say!" Daya snorted, grinning as he sat down in the armchair near them. Tarika sat in the armchair across from him, shaking her head in affectionate exasperation as she watched Abhijeet and Shriya. Suddenly, she remembered, and her face grew concerned. "Abhijeet, why did you sound so anxious over the phone?"

Abhijeet's arm tightened around Shriya, and she looked up at him worriedly. "What's the matter, Papa?"

"It's your uncle Pratik," Abhijeet said, his head bent and his voice so low that Tarika had to lean forward to hear. "He's been murdered." Shriya's mouth fell open, and Tarika stared at her husband, mingled shock and disbelief on her face. "No way," she heard herself say faintly.

"It's true," Daya confirmed wearily. "ACP sir's still over there with Muskaan and Freddy."

"Wh-who did it, Papa?" Shriya's voice quivered as she reached up and turned her father's face towards her. He avoided her eyes. "We don't know, honey," he murmured. Tarika looked at Daya, who shook his head. His broad shoulders slumped as he sighed quietly. Shriya's eyes filled with tears, and she buried her face in her father's shoulder, her small body shivering with silent sobs. Abhijeet hugged his daughter, and Tarika came over to sit beside him. She said nothing, merely kept her hand on his shoulder.

Later, after everyone had had dinner- Shriya only after a lot of coaxing from both her parents as well as Daya- they reassembled in the hall.

For the first time since Shriya had arrived in the house, there was a deafening silence all around. In fact, with her head against her father's chest, she could hear his heartbeat so loud and clear that it was as though she was using an invisible stethoscope.

Tarika was the one who finally broke the silence by exhaling gustily- it sounded like a whirlwind in the silent room. "For God's sake, I feel like I'm in a freaking library!"

"Tell me about it!" Daya rose to the occasion so enthusiastically that it was clear that he had been waiting for someone to speak. "Please, someone _talk!"_

"I want to sleep," Shriya announced as she sat up and yawned. She turned and held out her arms to Abhijeet. "Papa, carry me." The senior inspector obliged at once, sweeping the seven-year-old up into his arms and rising to his feet. "Come on, let's get you to your bed." He carried Shriya to her room, and put her gently down onto her bed.

Tarika, who had followed, covered the little girl with a blanket and sat down beside her, stroking her hair and humming softly. Abhijeet perched on the edge of the bed, holding his daughter's hand and patting it. His dark face was inscrutable as he looked down at her. Daya, meanwhile, was standing in the doorway, smiling at the scene before him.

Soon enough, Shriya was lulled to sleep by her mother's humming. Daya had already stationed himself in the hall. Tarika patted Shriya on the head and got up from the bed, and Abhijeet leaned over to give his sleeping daughter a kiss on the forehead before standing up.

Tarika left the room. Abhijeet started to follow her, but paused at the doorway, turning to give Shriya a last look. He sighed quietly, and turned off the light before leaving the room.

In the hall, Daya was assuring Tarika that he was perfectly fine with sleeping in the hall. "Really, Tarika," he said, half laughing with exasperation. "It's no trouble at all. Help me, Abhijeet!" he called out to his best friend as the latter came into the hall. "Your wife's overwhelmed by guilt here!"

Abhijeet couldn't help smiling. _"Tarika..."_

"OK, OK!" Tarika gave up, shrugging helplessly. "If you need anything at all, Daya, don't hesitate to help yourself. You don't even have to ask." Daya grinned. _Oh, I certainly won't ask. I wouldn't dream of interrupting you two._

"Right," Abhijeet said. "Good night, Daya." He clapped his best friend on the shoulder, and went off in the direction of his and Tarika's room. Tarika said goodnight to Daya as well, and followed her husband. Once they were safely out of earshot, Daya broke into the hearty laughter he had been suppressing since dinner. Who the hell did Abhijeet and Tarika think they were fooling?

ABHIJEET AND TARIKA'S ROOM

As Tarika came into the room, nudging the door shut with the heel of her foot, she saw that the room was illuminated dimly by a single nightlight. She could also feel Abhijeet's steady gaze on her as though it were a laser.

She went over and sat down beside him. "Hi."

"Hi." There was something in his voice that gave her the shivers. She tentatively slipped her hand into his, and Abhijeet looked at her. There was a question in his dark eyes- a question he didn't need to ask out loud. Tarika looked back at him, and she knew she didn't have to answer out loud either. Wordlessly she nodded, mingled trepidation and anticipation rapidly increasing her heart rate.

Abhijeet showed no reaction, and went back to mutely staring off into space. Tarika had just begun to wonder, when the room suddenly plunged into darkness.

WEDNESDAY MORNING, CID BUREAU

Daya was having a dreadfully hard time keeping the grin off his face. Muskaan was thoroughly perplexed as she watched her boyfriend over the top of her coffee mug. "What on earth is he so happy about?" she wondered to herself.

Just then, Abhijeet came into the bureau, and everything became clear to Muskaan at once. The senior inspector's usual sleek, purposeful stride had been replaced by a springy saunter, and his eyes were shining as though entire constellations of stars had taken up residence in them. What had immediately grabbed Muskaan's attention, though, was the strange, faraway smile on Abhijeet's face that she had seen before... on Daya's face, the last time they had-

"Oh my God," she whispered. "No way. _No...way."_ Her pretty face broke out into a huge, incredulous grin, and she looked across the room to meet Daya's amused gaze. He winked at her and nodded in Abhijeet's direction, confirming her suspicions. "Don't react," he mouthed, shaking his head, and Muskaan nodded, still grinning from ear to ear.

"Why is everyone grinning like a fool?" ACP Pradyuman demanded as he entered the room. "There's nothing to be so thrilled about around here. Pratik's been killed and we have no idea who did it!"

"Has Dr. Salunkhe examined the body, sir?" Freddy asked. ACP Pradyuman shrugged. "Knowing Salunkhe...he will have. But he's too proud to tell me the result himself- he wants us to run to the lab like helpless dogs and _ask_ for it." When he mentioned the forensic lab, Daya and Muskaan found it harder than ever to control their laughter, but somehow succeeded. Daya clenched his fists tightly, and Muskaan bit her lip repeatedly.

Thankfully, ACP Pradyuman didn't notice. He sighed heavily, his face resigned. "Well, I suppose we'll have to humour him if we want to find out anything. Come on." As the team followed him out of the room, Daya and Muskaan, who were bringing up the rear, had silent fits of laughter.

FORENSIC LAB

Daya and Muskaan had been smart enough to guess the reason for Abhijeet's unusual behaviour that day. However, Dr. Salunkhe, the resident genius of the CID himself, was completely clueless as to why Tarika was glowing like a halogen lamp. "Are you sure you didn't inhale some kind of drug by mistake?" he asked her suspiciously, and she giggled. "Of course not, sir. I'm just in a good mood."

"Good mood?" Dr. Salunkhe snorted. "That's the understatement of the century! You look like a cat who's just swallowed a-"

"Who swallowed what?" ACP Pradyuman enquired as he strode into the lab, followed by his team. As usual, Abhijeet and Tarika exchanged smiles, but Dr. Salunkhe's hawk eyes detected something different. Being the brainy man he was, he immediately realised that Tarika wasn't the only one with an overwhelmingly happy mood that day. "Something fishy," the forensic doctor muttered under his breath. What made it all the more puzzling was that when Tarika had come into the lab and beheld Pratik's dead body earlier, her eyes had blazed with fury and she had flatly refused to help him analyse the corpse.

Dr. Salunkhe had heard the strain in his assistant's voice, seen with his own eyes how she was fighting to control herself even though he knew very well that she couldn't stand to look at the dead body of the man who had mistreated her daughter.

Now, however, when Abhijeet walked into the lab, Tarika looked so happy that Dr. Salunkhe felt as though he had gone back in time, all the way back to Abhijeet and Tarika's wedding day more than seven months ago. As far as he could remember, that was the last time he had seen the two of them looking so utterly ecstatic.

"What on earth is the matter with you two today?" he demanded, staring incredulously from Abhijeet to Tarika and back again. They turned an identical shade of red, and ACP Pradyuman flung his hands into the air helplessly. "I've been asking Abhijeet the same thing all morning, Salunkhe!"

"Anyway, Dr. Salunkhe!" Abhijeet hurriedly changed the topic. "What did you find out?" Dr. Salunkhe gave him a look, but answered the question. "As you guys will have guessed already, Pratik was killed by three bullets straight in the chest. And we didn't find any fingerprints."

"Then you have no clue as to who killed him?" ACP Pradyuman scowled at his on-and-off best friend. "Thanks a lot, Salunkhe."

Dr. Salunkhe glowered back at the ACP. "I'm not a machine, Pradyuman. I can find out only what I can find out."

"Fine!" snapped ACP Pradyuman. "Come on, team! Let's get out of here! Call us if you find out anything more by some miracle, Salunkhe!" he barked over his shoulder as he stormed out of the lab. Abhijeet and Daya gave Tarika and Dr. Salunkhe (respectively) apologetic looks before following, and Muskaan shrugged sheepishly at the doctors before she hurried after the team.

MAIN ROOM

Shriya was still a little quiet, but was taking the strain of all the recent events incredibly well for a child her age.

She was sitting on the table in the centre of the room, looking down at her sneakered feet which were dangling off the edge. Abhijeet was sitting on a chair beside her, holding her little hand in his. His brow was furrowed in thought. Daya and Muskaan, who were sitting at one of the computers, were avidly doing research on the people involved in the smuggling racket. Freddy, meanwhile, was in the file room doing the same.

All of a sudden, Abhijeet's gasp broke the silence. "Shriya?" he asked urgently, jumping to his feet and taking his daughter by the shoulders. She stared at him, looking surprised. "What's the matter, Papa?" she asked.

"Shriya, honey, I need you to tell me something very important," her father told her, his dark eyes serious. "Your stepmother lived with you and your uncle, didn't she?"

"Y-yes," Shriya's voice shook as she nodded. Naturally, it was hard for her to speak about her abusive relatives.

"Can you tell me how she used to talk to your uncle?" Abhijeet questioned. Shriya looked rather puzzled, but replied confidently. "They used to fight a lot." Across the room, Daya and Muskaan exchanged looks of comprehension. "Aha," Daya whispered. "So that's what it's all about."

"And Papa," Shriya added, her eyes bright and her face keen, "I've seen Maya aunty go to Pratik uncle's room many times. Whenever he went out of the house, she used to go into his room. I don't know what she did in there, but she always brought something out with her."

"That's it," Abhijeet snapped his fingers triumphantly as he came towards Daya and Muskaan, who were staring at him incredulously. "Come on, gang. Let's go back to Pratik's house and catch Maya."

"Um, Abhijeet?" Daya pointed out. "If Maya had anything to do with Pratik's death, I highly doubt she'll be home. She wasn't there when we went." Abhijeet rolled his eyes. "Daya, she can run, but she can't hide. She'll have to come back some time or another."

"Papa!" Shriya jumped off the table, hurried over to her father and tugged on his black coat. "Why don't you call her house? If Maya aunty's there, she'll pick up, and all of you can go and catch her straight away!"

Abhijeet beamed down at the seven-year-old. "That's my smart baby girl," he said happily, and Shriya grinned up at him. "Not as smart as you, Papa!" she said modestly.

"Oh, trust me, you'll get there soon," Muskaan laughed, reaching over to give the little girl's cheek an affectionate pinch. Shriya smiled. "I know what to do now," she informed Abhijeet, Daya and Muskaan. "All of you go out to catch somebody, and I go to Doctor uncle's room, to Mamma."

"Right." Abhijeet knelt down to give his daughter a quick hug, and she gave him a kiss on the cheek before skipping out of the room, waving bye to Daya and Muskaan on her way out.

PRATIK'S HOUSE

Predictably, there was no answer to the doorbell.

"You're quite sure she's at home?" ACP Pradyuman asked. Muskaan nodded, her bangs bobbing as she did so. "She picked up when I called, sir." No sooner had she finished saying this, than the door opened. Abhijeet's face turned red, but he wisely maintained his silence. ACP Pradyuman stepped forward. "Maya, we're from the-"

"CID. I know," Maya finished. "How can I forget you people?" There was a bitter edge to her voice, and the team fidgeted uncomfortably as they recalled the previous year's events, involving Pratik's wife committing suicide and his mother being sent to jail for the murder of Shriya's biological mother, Megha.

The awkwardness in the atmosphere had no effect on our favourite steel-nerved senior inspector, of course. He narrowed his eyes at Maya. "Where's your brother-in-law Pratik, by the way?" The question had the immediate impact that Abhijeet expected. Maya's face drained of all colour, and she began to stammer. "P-Pratik? I-I don't know..."

"Wonderful," ACP Pradyuman remarked as the team entered the house. "You don't _know?_" He exchanged smirks with his team. "He's been murdered, Maya!"

"M-m-murdered?" Maya stuttered. "Who...who killed him? I don't-"

"And," Abhijeet cut in. "Where's Shriya?" Maya grew even paler. She now looked utterly terrified. "Sh-Shriya? I-"

"You don't know that either?" Muskaan raised an eyebrow and put her hands on her hips. Though a fairly diminutive woman, she really did look quite menacing. Daya grinned proudly as she took a step towards Maya. Fear sprang up in the eyes of Shriya's stepmother at once, and she took an involuntary step back. "Pratik called our bureau yesterday," Daya came forward to give his girlfriend some backup, though he knew she didn't need it at all. "He called to report that Shriya's missing."

"And you still insist that you don't know where she is, or even where Pratik is!" Freddy snorted derisively. Abhijeet smirked, without a trace of humour in his face. "Amazing."

"Look here," Maya's voice was squeaking slightly, but she seemed to have mustered up some bravado all of a sudden. "I have no idea who killed Pratik, and please believe me when I say I don't know where Shriya is, either. She must have run away. And after all we've done for her..." Abhijeet turned deep scarlet in the face, and Daya grabbed his wrist at once. _"Don't,"_ he hissed warningly in Abhijeet's ear. "She's a liar, but not an idiot. Don't give anything away!"

Though he was seething, Abhijeet knew his best friend was right. He couldn't let on that he had anything to do with Shriya- if he did, it would certainly land her in even greater danger than she might already be in. Clenching his teeth, he looked away and let ACP Pradyuman handle the situation.

The ACP was no fool either. He knew perfectly well how Abhijeet was feeling, and hurried to divert attention from the senior inspector. "Right, Maya, we'll have to search your house." Without waiting for an answer, he gave the order. "Abhijeet, Freddy, go and take a look." Giving ACP Pradyuman a grateful glance, Abhijeet hastened to carry out his order, and Freddy went in the other direction. Muskaan glared at Maya, who edged away from her, looking scared. Daya smirked. He was exceedingly proud of his girlfriend's ability to intimidate people. It was almost as good as his own, as he often liked to remark.

"Sir," Freddy called as he returned. "I didn't find anything." Abhijeet, who came back to the hall a minute later, stated the same. The team could clearly see the frustration in his eyes as he did so.

"Now do you believe that I don't know anything?" Maya asked. "I've been in Delhi for two days and came back just this morning!"

"And when you came back you didn't find it strange that Pratik and Shriya weren't at home?" demanded ACP Pradyuman at once. "Well, I thought Pratik must have already left for work," Maya defended. "And as for Shriya, she was already gone before I went to Delhi. Little brat."

Fortunately, Daya had the presence of mind to put a restraining grip on his best friend's shoulder before the latter could explode with fury. "Calm down, Abhijeet," he murmured fiercely. "Just ignore her. Don't listen to a word she says."

"Fine," ACP Pradyuman barked. "We'll take your word for it, then. Come on, team, let's get out of here. Obviously Mrs. Maya can't help us." He exited the house, followed by the team.

Once they were all safely in the CID van, Abhijeet finally exploded. "Who the hell does that female think she is? Did you guys _hear_ what she said?" he fairly yelled. He looked absolutely livid. "And how _dare_ she talk about my daughter like that? After the way she's treated her!"

"I know!" Muskaan agreed fervently. She herself looked angry. "It took all I had to stop myself from smashing her face in then and there!" she exclaimed, her bangs bouncing up and down against her forehead as they always did whenever she got excited.

"Abhijeet! Muskaan!" ACP Pradyuman's voice was sharp. "That's enough! Be quiet, now!" Abhijeet and Muskaan obediently fell silent, but sat scowling like little kids who had been punished. Seeing this in the rear-view mirror, Daya snickered, and ACP Pradyuman shot him a glare that succeeded in putting an abrupt stop to his mirth.

CID BUREAU

"So now we're completely lost!" ACP Pradyuman banged his hand on the centre table furiously. "No leads, no clues and no idea whatsoever as to who's behind this whole thing!"

"Pratik was the only one who could have told us something, sir, and now even he can't," Daya said, and he and Muskaan looked dejectedly at each other. ACP Pradyuman opened his mouth to say something, but the ringing of his mobile phone interrupted. He growled in annoyance when he saw who was calling, but picked up. "What now, Salunkhe?" he barked.

The team had never seen anyone's face go from angry to shocked so quickly- a split second was all it took for Dr. Salunkhe to change ACP Pradyuman's mood. "We're on our way!" the ACP said hastily, and stuffed his phone back into his pocket. "What's the matter, sir?" Abhijeet asked, and ACP Pradyuman looked around at his team. "Salunkhe says he's got some news for us. To the forensic lab!" he ordered, and the team followed him.

"How much are you willing to bet that it was Tarika who found out whatever the news is?" Abhijeet muttered to Daya on the way. The latter made no reply but to grin and shake his head. They say old habits die hard, and this was especially true in Abhijeet's case.

FORENSIC LAB

There was an interesting deviation in the usual routine that day. Normally, ACP Pradyuman stormed into the lab demanding an explanation from Dr. Salunkhe, as was the tradition of the CID for all the years that the two men had worked together. That day, however, Dr. Salunkhe actually welcomed the ACP into the lab with a huge smile on his face. Needless to say, that really shocked the older gentleman. "Oh my God. What are you so happy about?" he asked the forensic doctor, his voice wary. "Are you feeling all right?"

Dr. Salunkhe would, on any other occasion, have fought back with a snappy retort. Instead, his grin only widened. "I'm a genius," he proclaimed.

"Wh-" ACP Pradyuman was dumbstruck.

"No, really, I'm a genius!" Dr. Salunkhe insisted, grinning from ear to ear and practically bouncing up and down with sheer smugness radiating from his every pore. ACP Pradyuman looked ready to have an embolism. "Abhijeet, you talk to this character. I can't deal with him!"

Poor Abhijeet rolled his eyes in exasperation. Tarika, who was standing behind Dr. Salunkhe, made a face at her husband, who fought to control his smile. "What exactly is the big news you have for us, Dr. Salunkhe?" he asked his wife's boss.

The good doctor was so used to this drill by now that he didn't even need to look behind him to realise the cause for Abhijeet's smiling. "Tarika," he said dryly, giving the ceiling a bored look. "Kindly stop trying to make your dear husband laugh when he's supposed to be asking me a serious question."

Abhijeet blushed, and Tarika cleared her throat as she suddenly became very interested in the microscope beside her. ACP Pradyuman smacked himself on the forehead, muttering something about lovesick youngsters. Daya and Muskaan, happening to overhear, smirked at each other.

"Anyways!" Abhijeet hurriedly changed the topic. "What did you find out?"

Dr. Salunkhe held up a plate which had a chrome-plated wristwatch on it. "Do you recognise this watch, Abhijeet?" he asked the senior inspector. Abhijeet frowned at the watch for a second, and his expression cleared almost immediately as he remembered. "This is the watch I found in Vijay's car, isn't it?"

"The very same," Dr. Salunkhe confirmed. "And guess what?" he looked over at ACP Pradyuman. "You remember those skin cells I found on it? Well, they were Pratik's."

That was something ACP Pradyuman had certainly not been expecting. _"What?"_ he exclaimed.

"Meaning Pratik was the one who killed Vijay?" Daya asked in shock, looking from the ACP to Dr. Salunkhe, who snapped his fingers and pointed at the inspector. "You got it, Daya."

"Not only that," Tarika spoke up. "We found traces of drugs on the watch, too. Cocaine," she stated triumphantly. ACP Pradyuman looked completely flabbergasted for a minute, much to the delight of Dr. Salunkhe, who absolutely adored giving the ACP shocking pieces of news just to see his reaction.

"So you were right, Daya," Abhijeet remarked, grinning up at his best friend. "It _is_ drugs they're smuggling, after all." Daya smiled modestly, and Muskaan gave him an affectionate nudge in the ribs. ACP Pradyuman furrowed his brow. "I think," he mused, "that Vijay killed the man we found dead in his house, then for some reason Pratik killed Vijay. And now someone else has killed Pratik himself. But who could it be? And why?"

"Oh, we'll find out soon enough, sir," Abhijeet assured him. ACP Pradyuman was surprised at the confidence in the senior inspector's voice. "How are you so sure, Abhijeet?"

Abhijeet grinned, the familiar triumphant grin that Tarika loved so much, all the more so since it always meant good news. "Because, sir," he informed the ACP, "while I was searching Maya's house I took the opportunity to attach a bug in her phone."

Daya's mouth fell open. "Oh my God," he exclaimed. "You seriously put a bug in Maya's phone, right under our noses?" Muskaan seemed at a loss for words as she looked over at Tarika, who was beaming at Abhijeet. It was at times like this that the forensic scientist felt no greater pride than that of being married to one of the best officers in the history of the CID.

"Fantastic, Abhijeet!" ACP Pradyuman was jubilant. "It's only a matter of time now!"

"What's going on here?" a familiar voice asked, and Shriya's big dark eyes appeared around the door to the back room. Abhijeet smiled broadly as he went over to his daughter, and Shriya grinned up at him. "Well, Papa?" she asked eagerly. "Did you find Maya aunty?"

"Shriya," Tarika put in, coming over and placing her gloved hands affectionately on her daughter's shoulders, "this Papa of yours is unbelievable." Abhijeet grinned shyly, and Shriya laughed. "Oh, I know that, Mamma," she told her mother. "My Papa is the _best."_ That earned her a hug from Abhijeet, which she returned with enthusiasm. ACP Pradyuman smiled at the seven-year-old, then turned to Daya. "Daya, you and Muskaan keep track of all the calls Maya makes or receives."

"Oh my God," Muskaan gasped as something suddenly occurred to her. Daya was at her side in the blink of an eye. "What's the matter, Muskaan?" he asked, his concerned gaze searching her face for signs of distress.

Muskaan looked up at him, her eyes wide. "Tomorrow," she said. She turned to ACP Pradyuman, who was looking curiously at her. "Sir, tomorrow..."

"What's tomorrow?" Freddy asked. Muskaan gave Daya a significant look, and he understood at once what she meant. "Sir," he said urgently to ACP Pradyuman. "Tomorrow's the 22nd of July."

"My God," Abhijeet stared in shock from his best friend to the ACP. "The smuggled goods will be arriving at the lighthouse tomorrow night, sir!"

"Meaning we haven't got much time," ACP Pradyuman finished. His eyes narrowed and his face took on the expression it always did before embarking on a mission. "Get ready, team. Tomorrow night, we're going to give the smugglers a grand welcome."

THURSDAY EVENING, 7.00 P.M., ABHIJEET, TARIKA AND SHRIYA'S HOUSE

"You'll be OK, won't you, Papa?"

Abhijeet felt a lump arise in his throat as he looked into his daughter's wide, innocent eyes. "I'll be fine, sweetheart. Don't worry. Take care of Mamma, OK?"

"OK," Shriya agreed, and hugged her father. "I love you, Papa."

A tear escaped from the corner of Abhijeet's eye as he held his little girl, wishing he never had to let go. But he was bound by his duty, and his duty was his life. He let go of Shriya, and kissed her on the forehead. "I love you too, baby. I'll be home soon." Tearing his eyes with difficulty from her small, anxious face, he went out of her room.

In the hall, as Abhijeet loaded his gun and tucked it into the waistband of his jeans, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked sideways to meet Tarika's worried dark eyes.

He sighed inwardly. This always tormented him, looking at his wife's face before going on some dangerous case and knowing that anything could happen... that he might never see her again. But this feeling was always followed by a rigid resolve- duty always came first no matter what. And Tarika understood it, understood him like no one else could. It was who he was, and she knew it.

And as always, the worry and fear left Tarika's eyes as quickly as they had entered, and she smiled at her husband. "Go get 'em. Do your stuff. And give me all the details when you get home."

"I will," Abhijeet promised, and held out his arms. Tarika moved into them, hugging him as tight as she could. "I love you, Senior Inspector Abhijeet," she whispered.

"I love you too, Dr. Tarika," he murmured, and reluctantly let go of her. "Take care of Shriya," he said, and Tarika nodded. They walked towards the door in silence, holding hands.

Just as he was about to cross the threshold, Abhijeet paused and turned to Tarika. Pulling her towards him, he kissed her, putting everything he had into that one kiss. She responded with equal feeling- the same thing was running through both their minds. Anything could happen on this mission.

As she stood at the window watching Abhijeet drive away, Tarika sighed quietly. Shriya, sensing her mother's pain, hugged her around the waist in an attempt to comfort her. Tarika smiled faintly down at her child and patted her shiny dark head. Shriya slipped her small hand into her mother's and half led, half pulled her away from the window.

It was going to be a long evening for both of Abhijeet's girls.

MEANWHILE, DAYA'S HOUSE

"Gun fully loaded?" Daya asked, and Muskaan nodded. Her pretty face was grim and set.

Daya checked his watch. "It's time." He sighed quietly as he took Muskaan's hands. The inspectors just looked into each other's eyes for a long minute, and finally Muskaan stepped closer and leaned her head on Daya's shoulder. He hugged her, inhaling the scent of her hair. "We'll get through this," he muttered, his voice determined.

"I know," Muskaan replied, and stood up on her tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek. When she came back down, she grinned up at him. "Come on. Let's go kick their sorry asses."

Grinning broadly, Daya high-fived his girlfriend, and opened the front door. "Well, what are we waiting for, then?"

LIGHTHOUSE

"Park the van here, Daya," ACP Pradyuman instructed, and Daya pulled over at a safe distance from the lighthouse. "Everyone get out," ordered ACP Pradyuman. "And take out your guns. We can't afford to take any risks."

"Yes, sir," everyone chorused, and pulled out their guns as they climbed out of the van. Once Daya had locked it, the team proceeded towards the lighthouse, taking care to walk in the shadows. "Look, everyone," ACP Pradyuman whispered, bringing the team to a halt. "You see them there?" Sure enough, they could see several people outside the lighthouse.

"Sir!" Muskaan tugged on Abhijeet's coat sleeve and pointed towards the sea. Everyone looked in the direction to see two large boats approaching the shore. When they anchored, the people on the shore began to unload big wooden crates from both the boats. "Aha," Daya said, his eyes shining. "Caught in the act."

"_Now!"_ ACP Pradyuman hissed, and the team ran towards the lighthouse, guns held aloft. "Hold it right there!" the ACP barked. "Nobody move!"

Seeing the five guns pointed at them, the gang of smugglers froze to the spot, and Abhijeet smiled grimly as his suspicions were confirmed. "Good evening, Maya," he greeted Shriya's stepmother, who was staring wide-eyed at the CID team. She held a large packet in her hands. "I knew you were behind this."

As he spoke, Maya's face transformed smoothly from terrified to smug. She grinned, and swiftly whipped out a gun which had been strapped to her ankle. "Very smart," she laughed coldly as she pointed the gun at all five of them in turn. "I thought I put up quite a good show. But you guys managed to figure it out after all."

"Put the gun down, Maya," Muskaan ordered, and Maya shook her head, the evil smile still on her face. "Oh, no. You're going to put yours down. All of you," she glared at everyone. "Guns down."

"Come on, Maya," Daya said. "You're outnumbered."

"No, I'm not." Maya looked over her shoulder. "Weapons out, you lot!" she yelled, and her cronies all pulled out some weapon or another.

"Look, Maya, don't be stupid," ACP Pradyuman raised his voice. "You can't escape. Surrender now, before it's too late."

Daya felt someone prodding him in the arm, and glanced sideways. Abhijeet was looking significantly at him, trying to convey something. Daya frowned in confusion, but then understood what his best friend meant. He nodded, and before anyone even realised what was going on, ACP Pradyuman's two best officers had shot at and injured all of Maya's accomplices. In unison, all of them went crashing to the ground, holding various parts of their bodies and howling in pain. Maya's jaw dropped, and she impulsively did the first thing that came to her mind- turned and made a mad dash for it.

She had, however, grievously underestimated Muskaan. Maya had not even gone ten steps, when a bullet from the female inspector's gun pierced her leg, sending her tumbling to the ground with a shriek. Muskaan smiled victoriously, but the smile vanished from her face as quickly as it had come.

Daya had just finished herding the last of Maya's gang members into ACP Pradyuman's custody when a horribly familiar, ear-splitting shriek tore through the air. He spun around, and a terrible sight met his eyes. Muskaan was on her knees, bent over and clutching her side, and Maya was sprawled on the ground a short distance away, her gun smoking and her eyes wild.

"Muskaan!" Daya rushed over to her and knelt beside her, catching her up in his arms. His girlfriend's face was deathly pale, and a dark red stain was steadily spreading across the side of her blue shirt. Cursing colourfully, he picked her up and hurried over to the others. "Sir, Muskaan-"

"Oh my God!" ACP Pradyuman exclaimed, staring at Muskaan in horror. "Daya, take the van and take her to the hospital right now! We'll handle everything here! Go now, there's no time to lose!"

Daya didn't need to be told twice. Opening the van door, he laid Muskaan gently down in the back seat, and climbed into the driver's seat. Within seconds, the van was gone in a flash of white and a screeching of tyres.

CITY HOSPITAL

It was a credit to Daya's driving skills that he had managed, even while driving like a madman through the streets of Mumbai, to get himself and Muskaan safely to the hospital without any damage to them or the van. He wished he could push the gurney through the hospital corridors as quickly.

"Muskaan, look at me," he pleaded. Muskaan's eyes were bleary and unfocused, and her breathing was ragged. "Please, Musi, just look at me."

"Daya..." Muskaan gasped, her eyes finally settling on his face with difficulty. "I...I..." But before she could finish, the doors of the operation theatre had been closed. Daya stood outside, his head reeling and his huge body trembling all over.

"Daya!" The familiar voice of his best friend brought him back to reality, and Abhijeet appeared beside him, his dark face twisted with anxiety. "How's she doing?" he asked urgently.

Daya shook his head as if in a daze. "I don't know, Abhijeet...if anything happens to her..." his voice broke, and Abhijeet put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. Nothing will happen to her," he said, though his eyes reflected the same fear that Daya had voiced.

"Daya, listen to me," ACP Pradyuman said firmly, stepping forward. "Muskaan is much tougher than she looks. And you should know that much better than me. She's going to fight, and she's going to win. Have faith." He patted the inspector on the shoulder, and Daya turned his head to hide the tears that had filled his eyes.

Half an hour passed by. Daya was pacing relentlessly back and forth, and Abhijeet was sitting with his chin resting on his fists. He was staring dumbly at the floor. ACP Pradyuman was leaning against the wall, his arms folded and his face frozen into the same frown he had been wearing since he entered the hospital. Freddy, meanwhile, was trying hard not to cry as he watched Daya.

Suddenly, a voice broke the silence. "Daya?"

The four men looked up to see Dr. Salunkhe hurrying down the corridor towards them, looking scared. He wasn't alone, however. Tarika was right behind him, holding the hand of a confused-looking Shriya. The little girl ran to her father at once, and he hugged her tightly. "Papa, what happened? Where's Muskaan aunty?" Shriya asked, giving her father's face a long, searching look.

Abhijeet couldn't bring himself to answer his daughter. Tarika came and sat down beside him, and he saw that her face was stained with tears. He reached up and wiped them away, and she leaned her head on his shoulder, fresh tears trickling down her cheeks. Shriya looked at either of her parents, and went over to ACP Pradyuman, whom she trusted would tell her what was going on and why everyone was sad. "ACP uncle, what happened?" she asked.

The ACP sighed as he looked down into the little girl's questioning eyes. "Muskaan aunty's hurt, Shriya," he told her. "She was-"

He never got to finish that sentence. The door of the operation theatre opened, and the doctor emerged. He barely had time to remove his surgical mask before Daya pounced on him. "How's Muskaan, Doctor? Is she all right?"

"She's out of danger now," the doctor assured everyone, who had gathered around him. "But-"

"But what?" demanded Daya, his voice raising. The doctor's voice squeaked a little as he replied. "Sh-she'll have difficulty in walking for the next two or three weeks, that's all." Daya's broad shoulders slumped with relief, and Abhijeet ran a hand through his hair, sighing heavily and muttering a curse under his breath. Tarika smiled through her tears, and Freddy quickly wiped away his own, that had escaped despite his best efforts. ACP Pradyuman grinned broadly. "See, Daya?" he asked the inspector. "What did I tell you?"

"Yes, sir," Daya agreed fervently, his eyes shining. "Can I go in and see her?" he asked the doctor, and without waiting for him to finish replying, strode into Muskaan's room and knelt down beside her bed. Her eyes were closed, and her dark hair was spread out all around her pillow. Her face was still pale and wan, but Daya knew he had never seen anything more beautiful.

"You did it, honey," he whispered, carefully taking her hand so as not to disturb the IV wire. "You fought, and you won. I knew you could do it." He laughed, even as tears pricked at his eyes. "My Muskaan can do anything." As Daya spoke, he felt her stirring, and she slowly opened her eyes and squinted at him. "Daya?"

"It's me, baby," he nodded, and reached over to touch her face. "How do you feel now?"

Muskaan shifted a little, and gasped as pain shot up her side. "Easy there, easy," Daya said hurriedly, patting her cheek. "Don't move, now."

"Oh, I won't," she grunted. "It hurts like hell when I do."

"Muskaan?" The team entered the room, and ACP Pradyuman smiled down at the female inspector. "Are you all right?"

"Y-yes, sir," Muskaan said, wincing as her injury hurt her again. "I'm fine."

"Aunty?" Shriya peered over Daya's shoulder, her dark eyes wide. "What happened to you?" Muskaan smiled weakly at the child and gingerly lifted a hand to pat her on the head. "I got hurt, sweetie. But I'm OK now, don't worry."

"You were brilliant, Muskaan," Abhijeet declared, a hint of emotion spilling over into his otherwise carefully controlled voice. "Absolutely brilliant. If it weren't for you, Maya would have escaped." Upon hearing her stepmother's name, Shriya gave her father a shocked look, and Daya laid a reassuring hand on the little girl's shoulder. "It's OK, Shriya. Your stepmother got caught doing some really bad things, and we put her in jail."

"You're safe now, darling," Muskaan told the seven-year-old. "She'll never come near you again."

"Papa?" Shriya lifted her head to peer up into her father's face. "Does this mean I get to stay with you and Mamma forever?"

Abhijeet smiled and nodded. "Forever," he promised, and Shriya beamed up at her parents. Nearby, Dr. Salunkhe and ACP Pradyuman exchanged grins, and Freddy smiled happily. Suddenly, Muskaan laughed as something came to her mind. "Hey, Shriya?"

"Yeah, aunty?" Shriya turned to look curiously at her. "Once I get out of here, I'll make you as much of all your favourite food as you can eat," Muskaan said, and as she had expected, Shriya's eyes widened with delight. "Really?"

"Promise," Muskaan assured her, and Shriya leaned over and kissed her pale cheek. "Thank you," she gushed enthusiastically, and everyone laughed. Once again, it was a job well done by the CID.

FOUR DAYS LATER, MONDAY MORNING, CID BUREAU

"Well, sir, Pratik killed both those men and Maya killed him-" Abhijeet broke off in mid-sentence, and his eyes widened as he stared at the doorway. "What the hell?"

"Muskaan!" ACP Pradyuman looked scandalised as the female inspector grinned up at him from a wheelchair. Daya, who was pushing it into the room, was wearing a similar smug expression.

"Muskaan, I thought I told you to rest for at least three weeks!" ACP Pradyuman rebuked her, and she shook her head violently, folding her hands. "No way, sir! With great difficulty I somehow lasted three days locked up in that godforsaken hospital! If I'd stayed there a minute longer I'd have gone completely nuts!"

"Daya, at least you should know better," Abhijeet chided his best friend, who gave him an incredulous look. "You think I willingly brought her out of there, Abhijeet? No way. I was all for following ACP sir's orders, but no! She tried every trick in the book to make me bring her back to the bureau!"

Abhijeet chuckled. "Good old emotional blackmail finally worked out, huh, Muskaan?"

"Yup," Muskaan agreed, grinning proudly. "I've become an expert at it, even if I do say so myself."

ACP Pradyuman started to say something, but was cut off by the ringing of his mobile phone. He picked up. "Yes, Salunkhe?" His brow furrowed. "What? OK, fine. We're coming." He hung up, and put the phone back into his pocket.

"What did he say, sir?" Muskaan asked, and ACP Pradyuman looked around at the team. "He asked all of us to come to the lab right away. Apparently he has some kind of surprise for us."

Abhijeet's eyebrows flipped towards his hairline as he exchanged glances with Daya. "Dr. Salunkhe has a surprise for us?" he echoed. ACP Pradyuman shrugged. "That's what he said. Well, let's go and find out. Lead the way, Muskaan," he said, and Muskaan beamed as Daya, looking bemused, wheeled her out of the room, followed by the team.

FORENSIC LAB

"What's this all about, Salunkhe?" demanded ACP Pradyuman as the team trooped into the lab. Dr. Salunkhe took one look at Muskaan, and his mouth fell open. "Muskaan! What on earth are you doing here? I thought you were-"

"You know me, Dr. Salunkhe," Muskaan laughed. "I can't stay away from the bureau for so long," she said, and gave Daya a sly look. He caught on at once, and smirked. Tarika giggled.

"Yes, well, that's all very good," ACP Pradyuman said impatiently. "But what's this fabulous surprise you claimed you have for us, Salunkhe?" Dr. Salunkhe grinned. "The surprise is coming as we speak," he proclaimed, and gestured with a flourish towards the lab door as it opened and a woman entered. She wore glasses and a very familiar smile. "Hey, all!"

"_Dr. Niyati?"_ the whole team exclaimed in perfect unison, staring at her. Dr. Niyati, for that was indeed who she was, beamed. "Surprise!" she said brightly.

Dr. Salunkhe gave her a broad smile. "It's great to see you again, Neo-pentane," he chuckled, and Dr. Niyati's eyes widened. "Gosh, you still haven't cut that out?" she complained, putting her hands on her hips. "The name is Niyati, for goodness sake, not Neo-pentane or Iso-pentane or whatever!"

"Dr. Niyati," ACP Pradyuman laughed. "Will you fight with Salunkhe all day or talk to me as well?" The forensic doctor rolled her eyes as she came over to greet the ACP. "How can I come here and not talk to you, sir?" she asked, smiling brightly as she shook hands with him.

"How are you?" ACP Pradyuman asked her. "Oh, I'm good," Dr. Niyati replied. Suddenly, she caught sight of Abhijeet and Daya, who were beaming at her, and hurried over to them, her face glowing. _"Guys!"_ she shrieked, and flung her arms around both of them. "Oh my God, I missed you guys so, so, _so_ much!" she babbled, practically strangling the poor men.

"Doctor...Niyati...choking!" Abhijeet gasped, and Dr. Niyati immediately let go of them. "Sheesh, how long has it been?" she asked, grinning at either of them. "You two haven't changed a bit!"

Daya snickered. "As if you have," he retorted, and a mischievous glint entered his eyes. "You're still as pretty as ever." Muskaan's eyes widened dangerously, and she cleared her throat loudly to make her presence felt. Dr. Niyati looked down and gasped. "Bloody hell, Muskaan! What happened to _you?"_ Muskaan smiled ruefully up at the forensic scientist from her wheelchair. "Long story, Dr. Niyati. But basically, we went to catch a bunch of smugglers and I got shot. Result, can't walk for two weeks."

Dr. Niyati winced. "Ouch." She patted Muskaan's hand. "Don't worry. Knowing you, you'll be back on your feet in no time." She smirked up at Daya. "I hope you're taking good care of her!"

Daya looked mock-offended. "Of course I am," he defended in a hurt voice, and Muskaan snorted. Just then, Abhijeet cleared his throat, and Dr. Niyati turned to him with a questioning look. Tarika was standing beside him. "Dr. Niyati, this is Dr. Tarika. And Tarika, this is Dr. Niyati," Abhijeet introduced, and Tarika smiled and nodded politely. As she said hello, Dr. Niyati frowned slightly. "Haven't we met before?" she asked Tarika, who looked confused for a moment. She looked closer at the other doctor's face, and gasped. "Hang on...you're Niyati _Pradhan_, aren't you?"

Both women's faces split into wide, incredulous grins. "Oh my God!" they shrieked in chorus, and hugged each other gleefully. Abhijeet, who had reflexively shut his ears, looked from his wife to his friend, completely lost as to what was going on.

"You never told me, Dr. Salunkhe," Dr. Niyati said reprovingly to the senior doctor, scowling over at him, "that this girl works with you!" She gave Tarika an affectionate prod in the shoulder.

"How was I supposed to know you two know each other?" Dr. Salunkhe demanded. "How are you acquainted, anyway?"

"Oh, we were classmates in college," Tarika informed him. "Then we lost touch." She narrowed her eyes at Dr. Niyati, who grinned apologetically and clutched her ears. "Sorry, Tarika."

"That's OK," Tarika said at once, smiling at her old friend. Just then, Dr. Niyati noticed the wedding necklace around Tarika's neck, and the fact that Abhijeet was standing so close to her. Her eyebrows practically disappeared into her hairline. "Oh my God, Abhijeet!" she howled, glaring at the senior inspector. "How could you do this to me!"

Tarika gave her husband a 'What's-she-talking-about-mister' look, and Abhijeet looked at Dr. Niyati in horror. "What on earth are you talking about, Dr. Niyati?"

Dr. Niyati huffed and scowled at him. "How dare you get married and not even _invite_ me?" she wailed, and Abhijeet heaved a huge sigh of relief. Tarika glowered at him and elbowed him in the ribs. "Ouch!" he groaned, and Daya and Muskaan stifled their laughter with difficulty.

Suddenly, a new voice floated into the lab. "Mamma, why's everyone yelling?"

"Ah, here she is!" ACP Pradyuman beamed. Abhijeet gestured to Shriya to come out of the back room, and she obeyed, looking up at Dr. Niyati and obviously wondering who she was and what all the fuss was about. Dr. Niyati's jaw dropped nearly to the floor as she goggled at the seven-year-old, then lifted her stunned gaze to see Abhijeet and Tarika looking sheepish. "Just how long have you two been married?" she asked weakly.

Tarika hastened to clear Dr. Niyati's doubt. "We've been married only seven months now, Niyati."

"And officially adopted Shriya two days ago," Abhijeet finished helpfully. "Phew," mumbled Dr. Niyati, pushing a lock of hair out of her face. "I practically got a heart attack for a minute there." Bending over, she smiled at Shriya. "Hello."

"Hi," Shriya said, somewhat warily. "Shriya," Daya introduced. "This is Dr. Neo-pentane aunty." Dr. Niyati shrieked in outrage and chased the laughing inspector all around the lab, much to the merriment of everyone from Shriya to ACP Pradyuman. The exception, however, was poor Muskaan, who groaned and buried her head in her hands. "God! I don't know how I'll ever be able to marry this fellow!"

Abhijeet jumped to his best friend's defence at once. "Why not? What's wrong with Daya?" he retorted, looking indignantly down at Muskaan, who rolled her eyes up at him. "Abhijeet sir, there's nothing wrong with your beloved best friend...except for the fact that he's completely insane!"

"Hey," Daya protested as he hurried over and tried to hide behind Abhijeet- a miserably failing attempt, given that the senior inspector was a good four inches shorter than him. "If you call me insane, what's _she_ then?" he gestured to Dr. Niyati, who was standing with her hands on her hips and looking incredibly displeased. "OK, OK, enough, you two!" ACP Pradyuman barked. "This is a forensic lab, not a playground! And for goodness sake, you two are fully grown adults, so _behave_ like adults!"

Our good old Freddy, who had gone unnoticed all this while, stepped in at the last minute to save the day. "Dr. Niyati!" he piped up, frowning so piteously that Dr. Niyati couldn't help smiling- he was still the same old sweet, innocent Freddy that everyone knew and loved so much. "Yes, Freddy?"

Freddy pouted. "You give such elaborate greetings to everyone else and don't even spare a glance in my direction? Have you forgotten me?" he whined, and Dr. Niyati looked stunned. "Of course not, Freddy! How could you even think something like that?" she demanded, stomping over and glaring at him. He winced. "Well, I-"

A bright idea suddenly hit upon Dr. Niyati, and she grinned. "By the way, how's your wife, Freddy?" As usual, the mere mention of his wife made Freddy's face light up at once. "My wife is great," he said happily. "You remembered?"

Dr. Niyati gasped, looking highly affronted. "Sheesh, Freddy! Even if by some miracle I forget _you_, no way on earth will I ever be able to forget your _wife _after all the epics you've narrated about her!"

ACP Pradyuman smirked, and Daya snorted. "Learn something, Freddy!" he told the sub-inspector, but wisely kept his mouth shut after the fierce glare Muskaan shot him. "Sorry," he muttered, and she huffed and made a face up at him. Shriya giggled, and Abhijeet grinned down at his daughter.

"Guys, listen up!" Dr. Salunkhe clapped his hands for attention, raising his voice. Everyone turned to him, and once he was sure they were all listening, made his announcement. "I'm throwing a welcome-back party for Niyati at her house this Saturday! Everyone better be there! No excuses, unless you want to face her wrath!" The last part seemed to be directed more at Daya than anyone else, and he rolled his eyes.

Dr. Niyati happened to glance at the clock then, and her eyes widened. "Oh my God, I totally forgot I have a conference in less than an hour!" she exclaimed, and looked around at everyone. "ACP sir, as always, you rock," she told ACP Pradyuman, who smiled.

"Abhijeet, you really pissed me off today...but don't worry, I still love you," she added when he started to protest. Tarika took his hand and narrowed her eyes threateningly at Dr. Niyati, who laughed. "I mean as a friend, of course!" she hastened to assure her friend. "And it was really great seeing you again, Tarika."

This produced a smile from Tarika, and once Dr. Niyati had individually taken her leave of everyone in the lab, she finally left. Freddy beamed. "It was really nice meeting Dr. Niyati after so long, wasn't it?" he asked, and Dr. Salunkhe chuckled. "You'll meet her again on Saturday anyway."

That was all ACP Pradyuman needed. "Speaking of which, it should be interesting. When Salunkhe of all people gives a party, you know it's an important occasion!" he chortled. Dr. Salunkhe made no reply but to about-turn and return to his work with his face resembling a thundercloud.

Abhijeet exchanged a long-suffering look with Tarika, who shook her head and went back to work as well, obviously trying to hide a smile.

ACP Pradyuman strode out of the lab, gesturing to the team to follow him, and Daya, rolling his eyes, wheeled Muskaan out of the lab, Freddy behind them. Abhijeet gave Shriya a quick kiss on the forehead and Tarika a smile before hurrying after his colleagues.

SATURDAY, DR. NIYATI'S HOUSE

"Wow," Tarika said admiringly as she, Abhijeet and Shriya came up to the doorstep. "I must say Dr. Salunkhe knows how to throw a party."

"Don't get too used to it, though," her husband laughed, just as Dr. Niyati came hurrying up to them, her eyes bright and her face beaming. "Hey, guys! Hi, Shriya!"

"Hi, Niyati," said Tarika. She reached inside her handbag and pulled out a silver-wrapped gift. "This is for you, to say welcome home," Abhijeet put in as a pleasantly surprised Dr. Niyati took the gift, thanking them. Just then, they were hailed by Daya, who was standing by the heavily laden dining table with Muskaan beside him. She had gotten rid of her wheelchair, and was using crutches.

"Hey, kid," Daya greeted Shriya, picking her up. Shriya looked at Muskaan in awe. "Wow, aunty, you look really pretty!" And indeed Muskaan did, in the pink-and-silver sleeveless top and black ruffled skirt she had donned for the occasion. She laughed and reached over to pinch Shriya's cheek. "So do you," she told the little girl. "Very, very cute."

"Of course she does," Abhijeet agreed proudly. "Tarika spent half an hour getting her ready!"

"And I myself got ready in just ten minutes," Tarika informed Muskaan, whose eyes widened in amazement. "Whoa. Doesn't look like just ten minutes to me!" she replied, gesturing to Tarika's outfit.

"Tell me about it," Shriya interjected. "When Mamma came out after getting ready, Papa was standing like a statue and staring at her with his mouth open." Abhijeet prodded his daughter in the shoulder to shut her up, and she giggled, clinging to Daya's neck as a means of escape. As they were all talking, Dr. Salunkhe came up. "Well?" he asked brightly. "How's the party?"

"Amazing," Muskaan told him enthusiastically. "Seriously, Dr. Salunkhe, you've outdone yourself this time." The forensic scientist looked mightily pleased with himself. "I have, haven't I?"

"Hey, Salunkhe!" ACP Pradyuman approached, a confused-looking Freddy in tow. "Freddy here has a doubt that he'd like you to clear!" Abhijeet, Daya, Muskaan and Tarika all exchanged interested looks. "This should be fun," Abhijeet muttered to his wife, who grinned. Dr. Salunkhe looked suspicious. "And what kind of a doubt is it, Freddy?" he enquired. Freddy looked hesitantly at ACP Pradyuman, who raised his eyebrows at him. "OK, Dr. Salunkhe, why exactly are we calling this party a 'welcome-home' party?" he blurted out.

Daya's jaw dropped. "You mean you don't even know why we're _having_ this party, Freddy?"

"My dear, sweet, innocent, clueless Fredericks," Dr. Salunkhe said patiently, "after leaving the CID, Dr. Niyati went abroad, to London. And now she's permanently moved back here. This is why we're calling it a 'welcome-home-party'."

"Understand now, Freddy?" Abhijeet asked, as though he were talking to a precocious toddler, and Freddy nodded happily. "Now I understand, sir!"

"Good boy, Freddy," ACP Pradyuman patted the sub-inspector on the shoulder and led him away, scowling at the triumphant smirk Dr. Salunkhe gave him. Shriya laughed. "Why does everyone talk to Freddy uncle like that?" she asked her father, who smiled. "Oh, it's because Freddy uncle takes a bit longer to understand things than the rest of us."

Much to Dr. Salunkhe's smugness, the party was a huge success, and Shriya especially was an instant hit with all the party guests. Indeed, Abhijeet muttered to Tarika that they would have to ward off the evil eye from their daughter, what with all the attention she was getting. Muskaan, though somewhat physically challenged at the moment, always managed to save Daya from all the women who hit on him- and there were quite a few of them. However, just one of Muskaan's famous icy glares was enough to send them scooting off and not looking back.

All in all, Dr. Niyati was given a welcome-back party which she would never forget... especially since she finally got to meet Freddy's wife, as well as Dr. Salunkhe's girlfriend.

A MONTH LATER, WEDNESDAY MORNING

"Uhh..." Tarika groaned as she rolled over, wincing. As she tried to sit up, her head reeled, and she grabbed the bed's headboard to steady herself. A wave of nausea suddenly hit her, and she quickly got to her feet and dashed out of the room. A few minutes later, Abhijeet woke up to the sound of retching. Being his usual paranoid self, he jumped out of bed and hurried to investigate at once. He found his wife in the bathroom, hunched over the washbasin and puking.

"My God," he said in horror, and Tarika paused momentarily to glare daggers at him and gesture violently for him to get out of the bathroom. "Go away!" she moaned, and threw her long curls hastily over her shoulder as she threw up again. Abhijeet stepped towards her and held her hair back from her face. Finally, she stopped, leaning over the washbasin and panting slightly.

"Tarika," Abhijeet said worriedly, once she had rinsed her mouth. "What's wrong? Are you sick?"

"I...I don't know," Tarika stammered, and suddenly began to teeter dangerously as a dizzy feeling filled her head. Abhijeet caught hold of her at once, and she grimaced. "Actually, I feel terrible."

"Don't come to the bureau today, then," Abhijeet told her as he helped her lie down. "Stay right here and take care of yourself." His dark face was anxious as he looked down at her. "You want me to stay with you?" Tarika shook her head. "Duty first, Senior Inspector Abhijeet...remember?" she said sternly, and Abhijeet laughed in spite of himself. "I know. I just wanted you to know I _would_, if I could." She held up her hand, and he took it in both of his. "I know," she smiled. "Don't miss me too much in the lab."

"How can I not?" he asked her, grinning. Just then, Shriya peered around the door. "What's going on here?"

"Shriya..." Abhijeet beckoned to her, and she came into the room. "Listen, honey, Mamma isn't feeling well, so she won't go to work today. You stay here and take care of her, OK?"

"OK," Shriya agreed at once. Abhijeet smiled at her. "Good girl. Now you sit here with Mamma, and I'll go get ready." He patted his wife's cheek and went out of the room, and Shriya sat down beside her mother. "Mamma, what's wrong with you?"

"Nothing's wrong with me, baby," Tarika told her daughter. "I just feel a little tired, that's all."

"Then go to sleep," Shriya suggested. "I'll sing a lullaby for you like you do for me." Tarika smiled at the little girl. "It's OK, I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

"Papa's worried about you," Shriya informed her mother. "His face was all sad-sad, like it was when Muskaan aunty was in the hospital." She pulled a sorrowful face, and it was such a perfect imitation of Abhijeet's 'sad-sad' expression that Tarika couldn't help laughing. "Shriya, don't tease your Papa like that," she chided, though she was grinning.

"I'm not teasing him!" Shriya protested. "That's exactly how he looks when he's upset!"

"_Shriya..." _

"OK, Mamma, OK," Shriya grumbled. Suddenly something came to her mind. "Mamma, Doctor uncle will have to work alone today, won't he?"

"That he will," Tarika admitted. "But he can handle it." Shriya's small face grew mischievous, and a twinkle appeared in her eye. "And he won't have to scold you and Papa for acting cute." Tarika gasped in shock, and Shriya ran out of the room giggling madly before she could do anything.

LATER THAT MORNING

Tarika was sitting on her bed, mulling over what had happened that morning and why she had gotten sick so suddenly. Just then, an idea occurred to her, and she quickly grabbed her mobile phone, which was lying on the bedside table. Dialling a number, she put the phone to her ear. "Hi, Niyati? Listen, are you free right now?"

"That depends," her friend replied jokingly. "What's the matter?" Tarika narrated the morning's events, and Dr. Niyati listened in absolute silence. She remained silent for two whole minutes after Tarika had finished speaking, which confused the latter. "Niyati? Are you listening to me?"

"You know what, Tarika?" Dr. Niyati said. "Don't move. I'm coming to your house right now." She hung up before Tarika could say anything, and sure enough, about half an hour later the doorbell rang. Shriya jumped up to open it, and Dr. Niyati smiled broadly down at her. "Hey, Shriya. Is your Mamma here?"

"I'm right here, Niyati," Tarika called from the sofa, and Dr. Niyati strode into the house and stood before Tarika with her arms folded, looking incredibly smug. Tarika raised her eyebrows. "And exactly what are you so happy about?"

"I think I know what the matter with you is," Dr. Niyati declared. She opened her handbag and searched through it for several minutes before she found what she was looking for. "Here," she said triumphantly, holding it up for Tarika to see. As soon as she realised what it was, Tarika's mouth fell open in disbelief. "No. Way."

"Just take it," Dr. Niyati ordered, thrusting the item into Tarika's hands. "Go take it, now." She steered her protesting friend firmly in the direction of the bathroom, and shut the door behind her. "Hurry up, Tarika! We don't have all day!" she yelled from outside.

Shriya looked thoroughly confused. "Niyati aunty?" she asked the forensic scientist, who raised her eyebrows questioningly at her. "What was that thing you gave Mamma?" Dr. Niyati smiled at the little girl. "We'll find out soon enough, sweetheart. Hey, Tarika!" she shouted over her shoulder. "Are you done yet? What's the verdict?"

The bathroom door slowly opened a couple of minutes later, revealing a completely stunned-looking Tarika. "Well?" Dr. Niyati demanded eagerly, her eyes glinting with anticipation. "What does it say?"

Tarika went and flopped down onto the sofa, looking dazed, and wordlessly held up the item that Dr. Niyati had given her. "Positive," she pronounced, her voice barely above a whisper. Dr. Niyati grabbed the test to see for herself, and her eyes widened. "Oh...my...God."

Tarika barely had time to wince and cover her ears before Dr. Niyati started shrieking like a banshee, jumping up and down on the spot in sheer delight. Shriya shut her ears at once, screwing her eyes shut tight.

"Niyati! Chill!" Tarika yelled, and Dr. Niyati stopped screaming to come over and grab both of Tarika's hands in a tremendously hearty handshake. "Well done you! Congratulations!" she squealed. A wide grin slowly spread across Tarika's dark face as the full impact of the news hit her. "Bloody hell," she said wonderingly. "I can't believe I'm-" she broke off as she saw Shriya staring at her, looking completely lost. "Mamma, what on earth is going on here?" the child demanded.

"Shriya," Dr. Niyati gushed gleefully, "your Mamma is-"

"Niyati!" Tarika cut her off hurriedly. "Not now!" Turning to her daughter, she smiled. "Shriya, I have some really good news, but I'll tell you later. After your Papa comes home. OK?" Shriya pouted, but shrugged. "Fine. But don't forget to tell me, Mamma!"

"Gosh," Dr. Niyati enthused. "Abhijeet is going to go _nuts _when he hears this. I can just imagine the look on his face!" she laughed, and Tarika shook her head, grinning. Shriya was getting rather frustrated by all the suspense. "Just wait till Papa comes home," she muttered firmly to herself.

THAT EVENING

Shriya had been watching her mother like a hawk all day, ever since Dr. Niyati had left the house. And she was growing more and more confused by the minute- Tarika kept grinning from ear to ear every few seconds without reason or rhyme. Just as the seven-year-old was pondering all this, the doorbell rang. "Finally!" she exclaimed, and dashed to open the door. "Papa!" she blurted out, before her father could even open his mouth. "Something's the matter with Mamma!"

Abhijeet looked frantically down at his daughter. "Is she all right?" he demanded, hurrying into the house. "Where is she?"

"I'm right here, Abhijeet!" Tarika said exasperatedly, coming out of their room and standing before him. "And don't look so worried, I'm perfectly all right!"

"Shriya says something's the matter with you," Abhijeet shot back, and Tarika smiled secretively. "Oh, that."

"What?" Abhijeet asked at once, grabbing his wife by the shoulders and peering worriedly into her face. "What's the matter with you? Are you sick?"

"Um, Shriya?" Tarika addressed the child, who was frowning up at her parents in puzzlement. "Could you just go and sit in your room for a while? There's something I have to tell your Papa." Shriya raised her eyebrows, but obeyed. As soon as the little girl's bedroom door had closed shut behind her, Tarika turned back to Abhijeet. "Abhijeet, I think you better sit down." Looking wary, Abhijeet sat down on the sofa, and Tarika sat beside him. "Well, you know how I was throwing up this morning?"

"Well of course," Abhijeet sounded bemused. "I'm the one who stood next to you holding your hair back, and it was me who made you go and lie down."

"Well, you remember how my head was spinning, too?"

The concern on the senior inspector's face steadily grew more pronounced. "Tarika, are you _sure _you're not sick? All this is happening to you, it could be something ser-"

Tarika groaned in frustration and smacked herself on the forehead. "Oh my God, Senior Inspector Abhijeet! You call yourself a CID officer!" She reached over, grabbed his hand and placed it on her stomach. "_This_ is the matter with me!" she told him, and the effect was immediate. Abhijeet's eyes widened to almost twice their normal size, and his mouth hung slightly agape. Tarika giggled. "You know, you're really cute when you get all wide-eyed like this."

Abhijeet pulled himself out of his daze, and his face broke out into a wide, incredulous grin. "Really?"

"Really!" Tarika assured him. "The test said positive...and you know what that means!"

"I know!" exclaimed Abhijeet. He looked utterly thrilled. "Two kids in one year!"

"I know!" Tarika squealed. "A new baby brother or sister for Shriya!"

_"I know!"_ both of them fairly yelled in unison, and Abhijeet pulled Tarika into a tight hug. "I love you, I love you, I love you!" he kept on saying, adding emphasis each time.

"Yes, yes, yes, I love you too!" Tarika laughed. "Now come on, we have to go and give Shriya the news." Abhijeet reluctantly let go of her, and both of them went to Shriya's room. She was sitting on her bed, staring fixedly at the floor with her brow furrowed.

"Shriya?" Tarika said, gently touching her daughter's shoulder. Shriya nearly jumped out of her skin, shrieking in alarm, but calmed down when she saw her parents. Her small face grew eager. "Well? What's the big matter you two were talking about?" Abhijeet and Tarika sat down on either side of their daughter, and Shriya looked from her father to her mother and back again. "Well, what is it?" she enquired impatiently.

"Shriya," Abhijeet finally spoke up. He beamed at the little girl. "Your Mamma's going to have a baby."

"You're going to become a big sister," Tarika told Shriya happily. Something flashed across the child's face for the briefest of seconds, before she smiled. "Oh. Wow. That's great, Mamma."

Abhijeet hugged her. "Are you happy?" he asked, and she nodded. "Yeah, Papa, of course I'm happy."

Later that night, however, it took Shriya a long, long time to fall asleep.

THURSDAY MORNING, CID BUREAU

It was fairly early in the morning, the bureau was empty, and Daya was bored out of his skull.

He wished Muskaan had accompanied him- both of them and the empty bureau would have made an excellent combination to start the morning on a pleasant note. But she had had an errand to run before coming to the bureau, and so asked him to leave without her, saying she might be late. He had been here twenty minutes already, and there was still no sign of her or anyone else.

No sooner had this crossed his mind, however, than he heard approaching footsteps, and the familiar form of his best friend entered the room. Abhijeet's face lit up when he saw Daya, and he immediately came over to him. "Daya," he said, his voice eager. "I've got some news for you."

The inspector raised his eyebrows. "Looks like it's good news...did Shriya learn to break doors or something?" he laughed. Abhijeet rolled his eyes. "That's _your _area, Daya. No, the news is that..." he paused, obviously in an attempt to control his excitement. "You're going to become an uncle. Again."

Daya squinted at him in confusion for a second, but then it hit him, and he gasped. "No way... Tarika's pregnant?" he exclaimed in astonishment, and Abhijeet nodded enthusiastically, his smile lighting up the whole room. A similar smile broke out on Daya's face, and he shook his best friend's hand heartily, beaming at him. "Congratulations, Abhijeet. That's awesome news, really awesome."

"What's awesome?" Muskaan's voice floated into the room as she walked in, looking curiously at the two men. "Our Abhijeet's going to become a dad again," Daya announced, and Muskaan looked thoroughly delighted. "Oh my God! That's _fantastic!"_ she shrieked, and hurried over to shake Abhijeet's hand. "Congratulations, Abhijeet sir."

Abhijeet smiled at her and Daya. "You two want a niece or a nephew?"

"Niece!" Daya replied at once, while Muskaan said "Nephew!" at the same time. Daya looked at his girlfriend in amused indignation. "Come on, Muskaan, it'll be nice to have another little niece."

"We already have a beautiful little niece, in case you've forgotten," Muskaan retorted. "No, no, I want a baby nephew this time." Daya shrugged, and smirked as he realised something. "Hey, you're right. If we have a nephew I can teach him how to break doors and slap criminals!"

"You teach him that," Abhijeet interjected, "and I'll teach him how to solve cases." Daya narrowed his eyes at his best friend. "Was that some kind of subtle crack about my case-solving abilities, Abhijeet?"

"Oh, no, Daya," Abhijeet hastened to assure him. "I just meant that you teach my child the stuff you specialise in and leave the rest to me." Muskaan snickered, just as Freddy came into the room. "What is this, some kind of meeting going on without me?" he asked, and Abhijeet laughed. "No, Freddy, of course not. I'm just giving Daya and Muskaan some good news. You want to hear it too?"

"Good news?" Freddy looked hopeful. "What is it, sir?"

Abhijeet beamed. "Tarika's pregnant," he announced, and Freddy's eyes widened. "Wow!" he exclaimed joyfully, clapping his hands in excitement. "My heartiest congratulations to you, sir!" he gushed, coming forward to shake hands with Abhijeet.

"And what exactly is everyone so thrilled about, may I ask?" ACP Pradyuman demanded as he strode into the room carrying a coffee mug. Everyone fell silent at once, though they continued to grin from ear to ear, especially Abhijeet. "Abhijeet? What's the matter?"

"Sir," Abhijeet said, sheer delight threatening to spill over into his voice, "I have some _great_ news." ACP Pradyuman raised his eyebrows. "What, did Dr. Tarika make some scientific breakthrough or something?" Abhijeet gave his boss a 100-mega-watt smile. "Close enough, sir. She's going to have a baby."

The ACP's mood changed so fast that anyone would have been prepared to swear that he was the most cheerful and pleasant old man you ever saw. "What? Tarika's pregnant? Abhijeet, that's... that's absolutely _wonderful!"_ he exclaimed happily, beaming, and Abhijeet was given his fourth handshake of the morning. "Thank you, sir," he said, blushing in embarrassment at all the attention he was getting. Little did he know, however, that in the forensic lab his wife was doing the exact same thing.

MEANWHILE, FORENSIC LAB

When he entered the lab, Dr. Salunkhe was surprised to see Tarika already there and waiting for him with a broad smile on her face. "Good morning, sir," she said brightly.

"Good morning, Tarika," he greeted. "How come you're here so early?" Tarika shrugged, and her dark face grew serious. "There's some news I wanted to give you, sir." Dr. Salunkhe raised his eyebrows. "News? What kind of news is it?" Tarika hesitated for a moment, but spoke up. "Sir, I'm leaving the CID."

The good doctor's reaction was exactly as she had anticipated. His jaw dropped practically to the floor, and his face bore an expression of mingled shock and bewilderment_. "What?_ Why?"

Much to his amazement, Tarika grinned widely. "I'm going to have a baby, sir."

Dr. Salunkhe's expression went from bewildered to overjoyed, in the same time it had taken for ACP Pradyuman's face to undergo a similar transformation. "A baby? Really?"

"Really, sir," Tarika affirmed, beaming. "I'm about six weeks along, I think."

As Dr. Salunkhe enthusiastically shook his assistant's hand, she noticed that his eyes were glistening unnaturally. "Sir, are you...are you _crying?"_ she asked in concern. Dr. Salunkhe smiled, and shook his head. "It's nothing, Tarika. Just remembering."

"Remembering?"

He nodded, a faraway look crossing his face. "I can't believe it's already been so many months since you married Abhijeet. It seems like only yesterday that you kids made Pradyuman and me dance at your wedding..." Tarika smiled wistfully as she recalled one of the greatest highlights of her wedding day- Daya and Muskaan had practically dragged the veterans onto the dance floor, and the ACP and the forensic doctor had, to everyone's gleeful incredulity, risen to the occasion with astounding grace.

"Yeah, those were good times," Dr. Salunkhe said reminiscently. He grinned. "But these are even better." Suddenly he realised where they were standing and talking. "Bloody hell! Tarika, what on earth is wrong with you?" Tarika blinked in confusion. "What's the matter, sir?"

Dr. Salunkhe gave his assistant an incredulous look. "You shouldn't be in the lab! There are so many chemicals here, it could be harmful to the baby! Come on, get out now! Quick, quick, quick!" he ordered, steering her firmly towards the door. "And don't come in here until after the baby's born!"

Tarika couldn't help laughing. "OK, sir, OK!" she said in exasperated amusement. "I only came to give you the news anyway... I'm heading back home now." She took her leave of her boss and went back to the main room. As soon as she came in, everyone applauded and cheered.

"What-" Tarika was cut off by Muskaan, who flew at her and flung her arms around her, practically hopping up and down with excitement. "Well done you!" she squealed, and looked pleadingly at Tarika. "Please, please, I want a baby nephew, _please,"_ she begged. Abhijeet laughed. "What'll you do if it's another niece, Muskaan?" he teased, and Muskaan gave him a non-committal shrug. "I'm fine with it. But I'll be double happy if it's a boy," she added. Daya snickered. "Hah. Dream on, Musi. I still say we're going to have a baby niece!" he insisted firmly.

ACP Pradyuman shook his head, grinning. "I can't believe you and Abhijeet are going to make me a grandfather twice within the gap of one year, Tarika," he told the forensic scientist, and Abhijeet and Tarika exchanged embarrassed smiles. "I'm starting to feel old!" ACP Pradyuman laughed.

"Oh no, sir, no," Daya raised a hasty objection at once. "If _you _start feeling old, what will the rest of us do?" Muskaan and Freddy covered their mouths to hide their laughter, and Abhijeet and Tarika rolled their eyes at each other. ACP Pradyuman raised a suspicious eyebrow at his biggest officer, but Daya's smile was too infectious for him to remain suspicious for long.

TWO DAYS LATER

Nothing ever escaped Abhijeet's eagle eye much. He had the knack for noticing even tiny little things that normal people couldn't. And he had been noticing, for the past three days, that Shriya wasn't her usual self. The sparkle had gone out of her eyes, and Abhijeet couldn't remember the last time he saw her smile.

His questions would be answered soon enough, however. He knocked softly on Shriya's bedroom door and opened it, peering into the room. Shriya was lying on her bed, staring blankly up at the ceiling. "Shriya?"

On hearing her father's voice, Shriya jerked up with a start. "Oh. Papa."

Abhijeet went over and sat down beside the seven-year-old. "Listen, honey, I need to talk to you." Trepidation flashed briefly across Shriya's little face, but she sat up straight and looked attentively at her father. "Well?" she asked.

Abhijeet looked his daughter straight in the eye. "Are you happy, Shriya?" he asked her, carefully keeping his voice casual. As he had anticipated, Shriya averted her eyes, looking uncomfortable all of a sudden. "Y-yes, Papa, I am. Of course I am." Abhijeet shook his head. "It's difficult to lie to a CID officer, Shriya, but it's impossible when the CID officer is also your father. Come on, now," he said, his voice softening as he reached over and took his daughter's little hands. "Tell me. What's the matter?"

Shriya shook her head, refusing to look at him. Something suddenly occurred to Abhijeet. "Hang on... is this about the baby?"

She shot a quick glance at him before hurriedly looking away again, but that was all it took for Abhijeet's suspicions to be confirmed. "So I'm right. This _is_ about the baby, isn't it?" Shriya pulled her hands out of her father's, her head bowed. "Whenever I think about the baby, I keep thinking again and again how the baby's your _real _kid, and I'm not..." she trailed off as her voice began to crack.

Abhijeet sighed, and held out his arms to the child. "Come here, Shriya. Just come to me for a minute, please." Shriya hesitated, but slowly crawled into her father's lap. He held her tightly, patting her head, and felt something wet against the front of his shirt. Looking at Shriya, he saw that she was crying silently.

Abhijeet let go of her and set her back down on the bed so that she was sitting facing him. "Shriya, did you know that Daya uncle hasn't got parents?"

Shriya's eyes widened. "Really, Papa?"

Abhijeet nodded. "Really. I haven't, your Mamma hasn't and Daya uncle hasn't either. But the worst part is, Daya uncle doesn't even remember his parents' faces." Shriya looked floored, and he continued. "When he was very small, much smaller than you are now, they left him in an orphanage and went away. He never saw them again."

A few more tears leaked out of Shriya's eyes, and Abhijeet reached over and wiped them away. "Now tell me. Daya uncle was his parents' real kid, wasn't he?" Shriya nodded. "And they didn't love him enough to raise him, did they?"

Shriya shook her head, and Abhijeet held her small face in between his hands. "Shriya, sweetheart, relations aren't just formed by birth or blood. Love is all it takes for relations to be formed."

A faint smile appeared on her face, and he continued. "So what if you aren't ours by birth? You're our little girl, because we love you. And that's all there is to it," he concluded firmly, and Shriya leaped at him, hugging him as tight as she could. Abhijeet hugged his daughter in return, and grinned as she let go of him. "I think we better go to your Mamma. She's alone back there, and will be rather bored by now." Shriya giggled as Abhijeet picked her up and carried her out of her room.

Tarika was indeed, as Abhijeet had predicted, looking bored. She was absently running her fingertips back and forth across her stomach, humming under her breath.

"Mamma," Shriya called, and Tarika looked up and beamed. "Oh, there you two are. I was just putting the baby to sleep." Abhijeet raised his eyebrows and grinned at his wife as he climbed into bed beside her. "Is that so?"

"It _is _so," Tarika said defensively, and turned to Shriya, who was sitting on her other side with her head on her shoulder. "Shriya, I wanted to ask you something."

"What is it, Mamma?" Shriya enquired, looking curiously at her mother. Tarika smiled. "What shall we name the baby?" Shriya's brow furrowed, and she tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Hmm...let me think..."

Abhijeet suddenly smirked mischievously. "How about Pradyuman for a boy?"

Shriya and Tarika gave him identical scandalised looks. "No way, Abhijeet!" Tarika protested firmly.

"I want my baby brother to be like _you_, Papa, not like ACP uncle!" Shriya supported. She said this in such a fierce tone that it was clear she meant business. "OK, OK, cool it, girls," Abhijeet laughed. "I was just kidding. But seriously, Shriya, what do you think we should name the baby?" Shriya smiled. "I like Aditya for a boy and Shraddha for a girl," she declared.

(Note: Those of you who don't know, Aditya is Abhijeet's real name and Shraddha is Tarika's real name.)

"Done!" Abhijeet and Tarika agreed in unison, and Shriya beamed at her parents. "So do you want Aditya or Shraddha?" asked Abhijeet, and Shriya shrugged. "I don't know. Either one's fine with me... as long as the baby has two eyes, one nose and one mouth!" she giggled, and Abhijeet and Tarika burst out laughing.

MONDAY MORNING, CID BUREAU

"No, no, no!" Muskaan exclaimed vehemently, banging her fist on the table. "We're going to have a baby nephew, and that's final!"

"On the contrary!" Daya slapped his hand onto the table as well, and it trembled ominously. "Once and for all, I say we're going to have a baby niece!"

"Sir!" Freddy suddenly had an idea. "How about we have a bet?"

Daya grinned broadly. "Brilliant idea, Freddy. So, Muskaan, how much do you bet that it's a boy?" Muskaan smirked at her boyfriend and put her hands on her hips. "25 bucks."

"Oh? Well, I'll put in fifty on a baby girl," Daya challenged her. "Freddy?" he turned to the sub-inspector. "Whose side are you on?" Freddy smiled. "Of course I'm on your side, sir! 35 bucks!" he assured Daya, who flashed Muskaan a triumphant look. She rolled her eyes, just as Abhijeet entered. "What's going on here?" he asked, raising a questioning eyebrow at his colleagues.

"We're betting on the gender of your baby, sir!" Freddy blurted out, and Muskaan smacked herself on the forehead. "Sheesh, Freddy! Can't you keep your mouth shut for a while!" Daya growled, and Freddy winced, looking ashamed. "Sorry, sir." Abhijeet's mouth fell open in amazement. "You're betting on- what the hell!" he barked, looking highly indignant. "You're _gambling_? Over the _gender_ of my _baby?" _he demanded.

"What?" ACP Pradyuman's voice sounded sharp as he came into the room. "Who's gambling?"

"N-nothing, sir!" Daya said quickly. "Just kidding around!"

"Sir!" Abhijeet stepped forward. "These three are placing bets over whether Tarika's going to have Aditya or Shraddha!"

ACP Pradyuman blinked. "Aditya? Shraddha? Who on earth are they?" Abhijeet realised his error at once, and hastily elaborated. "Those are the names Shriya decided upon, sir. Aditya for a boy and Shraddha for a girl."

"Very nice names, too," ACP Pradyuman complimented. "But what's all this about betting? Daya, Muskaan, Freddy?" He looked at the three of them, and Muskaan suddenly hit upon a bright idea. "Sir, I bet 25 bucks on Aditya, but I have no one on my side!" she complained. "Daya and Freddy both say it's going to be Shraddha!"

"I'm betting fifty and Freddy's putting in a thirty-five, sir," Daya piped up. ACP Pradyuman shook his head as well as his hand vigorously. "No, no, no, Daya! I'm afraid I'm going to have to take Muskaan's side in this! I bet 30 rupees on Aditya!" Muskaan sneered victoriously at her boyfriend, who pouted childishly. Abhijeet, the long-suffering father of the poor baby being betted over, gave an anguished groan and clutched at his dark hair in frustration. _"Why me?"_

THREE MONTHS LATER, SHOPPING MALL

"Shriya...hey, Shriya!" Abhijeet grabbed his daughter by the hood of her light blue T-shirt. "Stay close, don't run off!" he admonished. "Mamma can't chase after you!"

"OK, Papa, OK!" Shriya said hastily, and Abhijeet maintained a firm grip on her hand as Tarika rolled her eyes. "Abhijeet, she's not a toddler, for heaven's sake. She's eight years and two months old!"

"See, Papa?" Shriya asked triumphantly, and Abhijeet scowled at his wife. "Thanks so much for the support, Tarika." The forensic scientist burst out laughing, and Abhijeet smiled grudgingly in spite of himself.

Suddenly, a fair-complexioned woman who was coming from the opposite direction stopped in her tracks, staring at them with her mouth agape. "Oh my God!" she exclaimed. "Abhijeet?" Abhijeet's eyes widened. "Shruti?" he asked in disbelief, a wondering expression on his dark face. The woman beamed. "You remember me! What a coincidence, meeting you after- how long has it been?"

"Almost four years, I think," Abhijeet said, smiling. "How's Viren? And your daughter?"

"Both of them are great," Shruti told him. Her gaze then fell on Tarika. "Oh, hello!" she said brightly. Abhijeet seemed to realise only then that Tarika was beside him at all. "Oh, I'm sorry," he apologised quickly. "Shruti, this is my wife, Tarika, and Tarika, this is Shruti, my old college friend Viren's wife."

"Nice to meet you," Shruti said, and Tarika smiled. Shriya noticed at once, however, that her mother's smile didn't possess its usual brightness. Shruti happened to notice her then, and her eyes widened in surprise. "This is your daughter?" she asked Abhijeet, who smiled. "Yes, this is Shriya."

Shruti looked rather confused. "Wait...how old is she?"

"Eight," Shriya replied promptly, and Abhijeet hastened to clear the confusion. "We adopted her a few months ago."

"Oh." Comprehension dawned on Shruti's face. "That's so kind of you," she said to Abhijeet. Tarika cleared her throat pointedly, and Shruti looked curiously at her. Only then did she notice the forensic scientist's curved belly, contrasting starkly with her slender figure. "Don't tell me...the second child's on the way?" she enquired eagerly, and Abhijeet beamed. "Yup. Four months along," he said proudly, and Shruti smiled. "That's great. Congratulations." She suddenly happened to glance at her watch, and gasped. "Oh, I'm late. I have to pick my daughter up from her music class. It was really nice to meet all of you."

So saying, she took her leave of them and walked off. Tarika saw a strange look on Abhijeet's face as he stared after Shruti, and alarm bells instantly went off in her head. There was something here that she didn't know, and she didn't like it one bit.

Just then, Abhijeet's mobile phone rang, and he seemed to jerk out of a trance. Quickly pulling the phone from his jeans pocket, he picked up. "Yeah, Daya?" He frowned, his mouth twisting as he listened to what his best friend was saying. "OK, I'm coming," he said, and hung up. "What did Daya uncle say, Papa?" Shriya questioned, craning her neck to look up at her father, who sighed. "There's been a murder at an office. I'll have to drop you two off at home and go straight there," he said.

The drive home was the most silent in the family history. Abhijeet looked distant, Tarika looked tense and Shriya was staring bemusedly at each of her parents in turn, trying to figure out what on earth had gotten into them.

SOME TIME LATER, ABHIJEET, TARIKA, SHRIYA AND UNBORN BABY'S HOME

Tarika had been eyeing her mobile phone for quite some time now, trying to decide whether or not to do what was running through her mind. Finally she reached out and grabbed the phone, dialling a number.

Daya answered almost at once. "Dr. Tarika?" He sounded surprised. "What's with the sudden call?" His voice took on a concerned tone. "Is everything all right?"

"Daya," Tarika started tentatively. "Do you know someone named Shruti?"

"Shruti?" There was a pause before Daya spoke again, a tinge of something like apprehension in his voice. "Can you describe her for me?" Tarika described Shruti as well as she could, and heard Daya swearing under his breath. "Daya? What's the matter?" she asked at once. Daya hesitated, and it didn't go unnoticed. "Nothing, Tarika."

"Don't you dare give me that 'nothing'," Tarika retorted. "There's something you're not telling me, Daya. I saw Abhijeet's face when she was leaving, and there's definitely something fishy. Tell me everything, from the beginning till the end. And leave _nothing_ out!" she added violently.

"OK, OK," Daya hastened to calm her down. He sighed, and started the story. "Well, it all started a few years ago when Shruti showed up at Abhijeet's house with her daughter..."

As he told her, everything became clear as crystal to Tarika. The look on Abhijeet's face swam in front of her eyes again. She felt a lump arising in her throat, and knew she had to hang up the phone before Daya heard her crying. "Thanks for telling me, Daya. I needed to hear it."

"Listen, Tarika, you didn't take it the wrong way, did you?" Daya asked worriedly. "It was a really long time ago, and Abhijeet had just been alone for so long..."

"It's OK, Daya," Tarika interrupted quickly. "I understand. Thanks again. Bye." She hung up, tossed her phone onto the bedside table, and fell back against her pillows, staring up at the ceiling.

When Shriya came out of her room a short while later, she heard quiet sobs coming from the direction of her parents' room. Frowning, she went to investigate, and slowly peered around the door. Tarika was sitting on the bed, tears falling thick and fast from her eyes onto her four-month-old belly.

"Mamma?" Shriya asked tentatively, and Tarika looked up with a start. Hastily wiping away her tears, she gave her daughter a fake smile. "What is it, honey?"

Shriya thought of asking her mother why she had been crying, but at the last minute decided against it. "Nothing. I just came to see how you were." Tarika smiled sadly, and Shriya came into the room and gave her mother a hug. Tarika kissed the little girl on the cheek, and gently shoved her in the direction of the door. "You go, now. I have to make lunch."

As she returned to her room, Shriya's mind was racing full speed ahead.

THAT NIGHT

Abhijeet sat in the empty hall, absently twiddling his thumbs. Tarika hadn't spoken a word to him ever since he came home. Indeed, she had barely even looked at him. It was incredibly puzzling.

He was so immersed in his thoughts about his wife's strange behaviour that he didn't even notice when Shriya came and stood beside him. "Papa?" she said softly. He continued to stare blankly at the floor, his brow furrowed.

Shriya tried again. "Papa!" she repeated, a little louder this time, and Abhijeet jumped violently. "God, Shriya, you nearly gave me a heart attack!" Shriya pouted, and Abhijeet smiled. "Come, sit down," he said, patting the place beside him on the sofa, and Shriya obliged. Her dusky skin seemed unnaturally flushed as she looked at her father, her big dark eyes serious and steady. "Papa, I need to talk to you."

Abhijeet instantly became alert- perhaps the child would have some explanation as to what was the matter with her mother. "What is it, honey?"

"It's Mamma," Shriya told him. "She's upset about something. I saw her crying this afternoon."

Her father's eyes widened. "Crying?" he echoed, and Shriya nodded. "She tried to act like everything was OK, but I saw it with my own eyes. I didn't want to ask her... she won't tell me anyway."

Abhijeet got to his feet, his dark face grim with anxiety. "Don't worry, I'll go ask her now." He went off in the direction of his room, and Shriya sighed. She hoped Abhijeet could find out what was bothering Tarika. Once he did, she was sure he could find a way to make it stop bothering her.

ABHIJEET AND TARIKA'S ROOM

When Abhijeet peered into the room, he saw Tarika sitting on the bed, staring off into space. Tiptoeing into the room, he sat down beside his wife. "Tarika?" he asked, his voice almost a whisper. She didn't look at him, or even acknowledge the fact that he was in the room. Warily, Abhijeet tried again. "Tarika?"

No response. Abhijeet decided to come straight to the point. "Tarika, Shriya told me you're upset, and she saw you crying too. What's the matter? Are you angry with me?"

Tarika shook her head, still stubbornly refusing to look at him. Abhijeet reached up and turned her face towards him, holding it by the chin. "Look at me, Tarika." Tarika averted her eyes, but not before he caught sight of the wetness gleaming in them. "Hang on...are you crying?"

She suddenly looked at him, her eyes blazing and tear-filled. "Shruti..."

That caught Abhijeet completely off guard. "Sh-Shruti?" he stammered. "What about her?"

Tarika shook her head fiercely to free her face from Abhijeet's hand. "Don't play with me, Abhijeet. You know very well what I'm talking about. You were in love with her, weren't you?" she demanded, angry tears escaping her eyes.

"I..." Abhijeet found himself at a loss for words, and it was now his turn to avert his eyes. "It was... well... I..."

Tarika didn't give him a chance to think up a proper sentence. She abruptly got to her feet, grabbed her pillow, and left the room. Abhijeet jumped up and hurried after her. "Tarika, wait... Listen..."

"I don't want to listen to anything, Abhijeet," Tarika cut him off, wiping the tears roughly from her cheeks. "I'm going to sleep here. You go inside."

Abhijeet's mouth fell open in incredulity. _"What?"_

"Mamma!" Shriya piped up suddenly, tugging at her mother's nightdress. "You don't have to sleep in the hall. You can sleep with me, in my room." Tarika shot her daughter a grateful glance and hugged her briefly before going off in the direction of the child's room, pausing to throw Abhijeet a piercing glare over her shoulder.

Abhijeet looked down at Shriya, his expression wounded. "You too, Shriya?"

Shriya rolled her eyes. "Papa, my dearest," she said in a low, exasperated voice, "I'll take care of this. Just trust me, please." She stepped forward and gave him a hug, and skipped off to her bedroom, her mind whirring frantically as she formulated a plan.

NEXT DAY (SUNDAY), AFTERNOON

It had been several hours since everyone had awoken, and if Abhijeet had been hoping that Tarika would have simmered down by now, he was grievously mistaken. She was still pretending that she was blind, deaf and mute whenever she was near him.

In such a situation, where her mother was angry and upset and her father was hurt and depressed because of it, one can only imagine how Shriya maintained her sanity. But she was a tough little girl who had seen much worse, and she handled it remarkably well. She had also made a plan- a rather risky one, it was true, but she would, hopefully, have some help.

It was with this consoling thought that she sneaked into her parents'- which was currently only her father's- room while Abhijeet was taking a bath. Carefully, stealthily, she swiped his mobile phone from the bedside table and dashed out of the room with it. It was a little tricky to figure out, but Shriya finally managed to dial Daya's number. Holding the phone to her ear, she waited with bated breath, praying that he would pick up soon.

Her prayers were answered. Daya picked up on the third ring. "Yeah, Abhijeet?"

"Daya uncle?" Shriya said. "It's me, Shriya." Hearing this, Daya sounded stunned. "_Shriya?_ What are you doing with your Papa's phone?"

"Listen, Daya uncle," Shriya went on hurriedly, glancing furtively around her to make sure neither of her parents was anywhere in sight, which of course they weren't. "I need your help."

"My help?" Daya's voice became sharp with concern. "Is something wrong? At home?"

"It's Mamma," Shriya told him, and Daya, understanding at once, exhaled gustily. "Ah. I knew it. She isn't talking to your Papa, I suppose?"

Shriya was astounded. "How did you know that?" she demanded, and Daya sighed heavily. "Well, it's partly my fault. You see, your mom asked me to tell her something that I shouldn't have told her. But I told her anyway, and now she's angry with your dad."

"She isn't even _looking_ at him," Shriya agreed. "Only you can help me, Daya uncle, please," she beseeched.

"Well of course I'll help you, sweetheart," Daya assured the child. "Just listen carefully and do exactly as I say, all right?" Shriya listened attentively as he told her what to do. "If all goes well, your parents will be their usual cutesy selves again very soon," he promised, and Shriya smiled. "Thanks, Daya uncle. I knew you'd help me."

"Anything for you and your Papa," Daya laughed, and Shriya said bye and hung up. Fearing that Abhijeet might have come out and found his mobile missing, she peeked into his room first. Finding it empty, she quickly hurried inside, replaced the phone on the bedside table and beat a hasty retreat.

Her alarmingly narrow escape was truly a credit to her good fortune- no sooner had she disappeared out the door than Abhijeet came out of the bathroom, towelling his hair dry.

THAT EVENING

The occasions were extremely rare on which Abhijeet looked defeated. Right then, however, as he sat with his shoulders slumped and a hand over his face, that was exactly how he looked.

Suddenly, he felt a familiar pair of small arms encircling his neck from behind, and sat up, smiling wanly. "Hi, Shriya," he greeted the little girl, who perched on the arm of the chair her father was sitting in. "Hi, Papa."

"Any luck with Mamma?" he asked her, lowering his voice to avoid being heard by the aforementioned lady, and Shriya shook her head ruefully, her long ponytail swinging from side to side. "Nope. She just doesn't want to listen." Abhijeet sighed, and Shriya hopped off the arm of the chair and knelt at her father's feet, taking his hands and looking earnestly up at him.

"Papa, just keep one thing in mind. The sooner you learn to let go of the past, the happier you'll be." She smiled up at him, taking in his astonished face with suppressed glee. "And don't worry, everything's gonna be OK. Sooner than you think," she added, a mischievous gleam flashing across her dark eyes as she stood up and skipped gaily away, humming to herself and leaving a thoroughly flummoxed senior inspector staring after her.

THAT NIGHT, SHRIYA'S ROOM

Both of them were lying very still and silent, but Shriya knew perfectly well that her mother wasn't asleep, and she seized her opportunity with both hands. "Mamma?"

"Hmm?"

"You're still angry with Papa, aren't you?"

Tarika was silent, and Shriya smiled to herself. "Just remember, Mamma... everyone makes mistakes, and there's no point wasting the present by dwelling on past mistakes."

Whatever Tarika had expected, it certainly wasn't this. She twisted around and gave her daughter a shocked look, but Shriya's eyes were already closed, her face looking completely innocent. But of course, the eight-year-old was far from asleep- she was thinking. _Well, I did as you told me, Daya uncle... now I hope things will straighten themselves out..._

MONDAY EVENING

Shriya held her breath as she opened her room door a crack and peered through it. Her suspicions were confirmed- it was confrontation time.

Tarika and Abhijeet were standing in the hall, staring at each other. Abhijeet looked nervous, and Tarika's face was unfathomable. Finally, she broke the silence. "Do you still love her?" she asked, keeping her voice carefully neutral. Shriya nearly had a heart attack as Abhijeet slowly nodded. "Yes."

Tarika's shoulders slumped and she looked away. "Oh."

Surprisingly, a smile crept across Abhijeet's face. "Of course, I assume that when you say 'her', you mean a crazy, brilliant, beautiful, silly and all-around amazing forensic scientist who happens to be pregnant with my kid right now." Tarika gaped at him for a couple of seconds, then began to hit him as he burst out laughing. "OK, OK, sorry!" he apologised, clutching his ears. Tarika scowled at him, and he took hold of her hands. "So, am I forgiven?"

She suddenly smirked slyly. "Well, we'll see about that."

Before he could blink, she had caught him by the ear and was dragging him towards their room. "You, sir, are in big trouble." Abhijeet grinned broadly. "Oh, I am... and I'm _happy!_"

Shriya waited until her parents were safely inside, then dashed out of her room and picked up the phone, dialling a number she now knew by heart. "Hello, Daya uncle? It worked!" she said gleefully, and Daya laughed. "Well done you!" he congratulated the little girl. "I knew you could do it!"

"The plan was _yours_, Daya uncle," Shriya replied modestly. "I just did what you told me to do."

"True," Daya agreed. "But the problem was solved because you did it so well."

TWO MONTHS LATER

"Abhijeet... Abhijeet, get up... Abhijeet... _Abhijeet!"_

"Huh!" Abhijeet jerked awake with a start, and looked blearily at his wife through eyes still half-lidded with sleep. "What?"

Tarika reached over and turned on the nightlight. Abhijeet squinted as his eyes slowly adjusted to the light. "What's the matter?" he asked wearily, stifling a yawn. Tarika was looking at him with her hands on her hips. "I want noodles."

Abhijeet did a double take. "You want _what?"_

"Noodles, Abhijeet, noodles!" Tarika said impatiently, throwing off the blanket and getting out of bed, giving him an irritated look. "Surely you've heard of them!"

"Tarika, it's 11.30 in the night!"

"I don't care, I want noodles now!" Tarika barked, glowering threateningly at her husband. Poor Abhijeet's mind was reeling with confusion, but he climbed out of bed and followed Tarika out of the room, mumbling under his breath about what pregnancy was doing to his wife.

Ten minutes later, as Abhijeet brought Tarika her noodles, they heard soft footfalls, and Shriya came over, dragging her blanket along. "What on earth are you two doing?" she asked groggily.

"Your Mamma woke me up at 11.30, ordering me to make noodles for her," Abhijeet informed his daughter, who squinted confusedly at either of her parents in turn. "Noodles? At this hour?"

"I know!" groaned Abhijeet, and Tarika narrowed her eyes at him. He hurriedly ladled more noodles onto her plate. "Sheesh, it sure is difficult living with a houseful of women," he muttered, and Tarika grunted disapprovingly. "I beg your pardon?" she barked when she had swallowed her mouthful of noodles. "_Houseful of women? _Might I remind you, my dear Senior Inspector Abhijeet, that you couldn't live without this so-called 'houseful of women', even if you tried!"

"Yeah!" Shriya supported her mother emphatically, and Abhijeet sighed heavily. "I tell you, no one will be happier than me when the baby finally comes!"

THREE MONTHS LATER

"Looks like he put up a good fight, sir," Abhijeet said, gesturing to the mess the house was in.

"Yeah," Daya agreed with his best friend as he knelt on the floor, examining the dead body. "Hey, Muskaan," he addressed his girlfriend, who looked questioningly at him. "Hand me that magnifying glass, will you?" Just then, Abhijeet's mobile phone rang, and he pulled it out. "Home?" he mused, frowning in confusion. "Hello?" he asked as he picked up.

"Papa, Papa!" Shriya's frantic voice cried. "Mamma's having pains! Really, really horrible pains! She says the baby's going to come!"

Abhijeet gasped. "My God! Stay with her, Shriya! I'm coming right now!" He hung up, and turned to meet the worried gazes of his colleagues. "What happened, Abhijeet?" enquired ACP Pradyuman, though he already had a feeling he knew what the matter was.

"Sir," Abhijeet's voice was rough with anxiety. "I think it's time."

"Holy crud!" Muskaan shrieked as she and Daya jumped to their feet. "The baby's coming?"

The senior inspector nodded, and ACP Pradyuman looked grim. "Go, Abhijeet," he ordered. "Hurry up. We'll finish up here and join you at the hospital. Quickly, now!" he repeated, giving Abhijeet a small shove in the direction of the door. Abhijeet didn't need to be told twice. He was out of there like a shot before anyone even realised it.

HALF AN HOUR LATER, HOSPITAL

When the team arrived at the hospital, accompanied by Dr. Salunkhe and Dr. Niyati, they saw Abhijeet pacing back and forth restlessly and Shriya sitting and watching her father, her little face anxious. When Abhijeet caught sight of them, he hurried over, his dark face shadowed with worry. "Sir..."

ACP Pradyuman patted the senior inspector comfortingly on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Abhijeet, it's going to be perfectly fine." Everyone sat down, and Shriya leaned her head on Muskaan's shoulder, looking up at the inspector with frightened eyes. "Muskaan aunty, is the baby hurting Mamma a lot?"

Muskaan put an arm around the little girl. "Don't worry, Shriya," she said soothingly. "Having babies always hurts. But it stops when the baby comes out."

Almost an hour passed by. Abhijeet was still pacing up and down the corridor, occasionally shooting worried glances in the direction of the room Tarika was in. His hair was completely messed up from running his hand through it so many times. Finally, Daya couldn't take it anymore. "God, Abhijeet!" he barked. "Stop pacing and stay in one place, _please!_ You're getting on my nerves!"

"For heaven's sake, Abhijeet!" Dr. Niyati snapped, glaring exasperatedly at her friend. "Your wife isn't the only woman in the world who's having a baby! Will you calm down, already!"

Abhijeet glowered right back at her. "I will not calm down, Dr. Niyati!" he retorted. "My baby-" he was interrupted by the door to Tarika's room opening, and everyone jumped to their feet. Abhijeet pounced on the doctor as she came out. "Doctor, my-"

The doctor smiled and held up a hand to cut him off. "Your wife told me to tell you... Aditya." Abhijeet's eyes widened, and everyone else looked confused, except for Shriya, who was smiling broadly. "Huh?" Dr. Salunkhe asked.

Muskaan's face split into a wide grin as she realised at once what the doctor meant. "Sir!" she crowed, and ACP Pradyuman beamed as well as he caught on. "We won, we won, we won!" Muskaan squealed gleefully, and everyone else finally understood. Abhijeet hurried into the room, and Muskaan smirked up at Daya and smugly held her hand out. "I believe you owe me something?"

Daya groaned. "Fine!" he sighed, pulled out a fifty-rupee note and placed it in her hand. Muskaan smiled in satisfaction and turned expectantly to Freddy, who winced.

As Abhijeet entered the room, he saw that Tarika looked utterly exhausted. Her dark curls hung in limp tangles around her sweaty face, but her beaming smile was lighting up the whole room. "Hi."

"Hi," Abhijeet said, perching on the edge of her bed and taking her hand. Tarika grinned weakly at him. "There's someone I want you to meet," she said, and Abhijeet's eyes fell to the baby in his wife's arms. A look of wonderment crossed his face. "Wow..." he breathed. "He's..."

"Beautiful, isn't he?" Tarika finished. She looked adoringly at the newborn. "He's the most beautiful baby in the whole world. Here, you want to hold him?" Abhijeet looked almost frightened as he gingerly took the baby from Tarika. "Hey," he said softly, touching his son's face with gentle fingers. "Aditya."

"Aditya," Tarika agreed, just as the CID team came in, led by Shriya with Daya and Muskaan behind her. "Mamma!" Shriya exclaimed, and caught her breath in excitement as she noticed the baby in her father's arms. "Oh my God," she whispered. "Is that..."

Muskaan took one look at Aditya's face, and gasped. "Hello, handsome!" she cooed, leaning over him and giving him a look of sopping adoration. "Will you marry me, sweetie?"

Daya's jaw dropped. "What about me?" he protested, and Freddy chuckled. "Don't worry, sir! Adi would never marry Muskaan anyway! You're safe!"

"Oh, move over, you lot!" ACP Pradyuman made his way with difficulty through the crowd and grinned hugely at his new honorary grandson. "Hello!" he greeted Adi, and smiled at Abhijeet. "He looks _exactly_ like you, Abhijeet."

"But with Tarika's nose!" Dr. Salunkhe pointed out at once, and reached over to shake his assistant's hand, beaming at her. "Good job, Tarika. He's a beautiful baby." Dr. Niyati nodded enthusiastically as she hugged Tarika. Shriya sat down beside her father, peering into her baby brother's face. "ACP uncle's right, Papa," she told Abhijeet. "He looks just like you, except his nose is like Mamma's."

"Hey, let me hold my nephew, too," Daya laughed, and slowly, with the utmost care, took Adi from Abhijeet's arms. "Hi there, dude," he said, smiling down at the baby. "I'm your uncle Daya. When you grow up, I'm going to teach you to break doors!" he promised, and Abhijeet rolled his eyes. "Daya..."

"My turn, my turn!" Muskaan held out her arms, and Daya deposited Adi gently into them. "Hold him carefully!" he cautioned.

"Hi, Adi darling," Muskaan crooned, simpering down at him. "You just say the word, and I'll drop Daya uncle like a hot potato and marry you instead."

"OK, Muskaan," Dr. Niyati put in, her eyes twinkling mischievously. "Feel free to drop Daya. I'm there to snatch him up!" Muskaan gasped and glared daggers at the forensic scientist, who began to giggle. "Don't you dare even look in his direction! He's _mine!"_ she growled, and Daya beamed. "Hey, hey, hey!" exclaimed Shriya, staring wide-eyed at her baby brother. "Adi's opening his eyes!"

"Here, Muskaan, give him to me!" Tarika said hurriedly, and Muskaan put her nephew back into his mother's arms. Everyone leaned in and watched with bated breath, as Adi stirred slightly. Slowly, his eyes opened, and the whole room gasped in perfect unison.

"Look, Abhijeet..." Tarika looked up to meet her husband's stunned gaze. "He's got your eyes." ACP Pradyuman smiled broadly, reaching over to pat his grandson's little head. "Abhijeet, Tarika, Shriya? This boy's going to make you indescribably proud one day."

Abhijeet, Tarika and Shriya exchanged grins, and all of their faces glowed brightly as they looked at the newest addition to their family. "He already has, sir," Abhijeet said finally. "He already has."

~ THE END ~


End file.
